:United States Secretary of Energy
{{Short description|Head of the US Department of Energy}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2018}}
{{Infobox official post
| post = United States Secretary
| body = Energy
| flag = Flag of the United States Secretary of Energy.svg
| flagborder = yes
| flagsize = 130
| flagcaption = Flag of the secretary
| insignia = Seal of the United States Department of Energy.svg
| insigniasize = 120
| insigniacaption = Seal of the Department of Energy
| image = Secretary Chris Wright Official Portrait.png
| incumbent = Chris Wright
| incumbentsince = February 4, 2025
| acting = no
| department = United States Department of Energy
| style = Mr. Secretary (informal)
The Honorable (formal)
| member_of = Cabinet of the United States
United States National Security Council
| reports_to = President of the United States
| seat = James V. Forrestal Building, Washington, D.C.
| appointer = President of the United States
| appointer_qualified = with Senate advice and consent
| termlength = No fixed term
| constituting_instrument = {{United States Code|42|7131}}
| formation = August 6, 1977
| first = James R. Schlesinger
| succession = Fifteenth{{cite web |url=https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/3/19 |title=3 U.S. Code § 19 - Vacancy in offices of both President and Vice President; officers eligible to act | US Law | LII / Legal Information Institute |publisher=Law.cornell.edu |access-date=June 14, 2017}}
| deputy = Deputy Secretary
| salary = Executive Schedule, level I
| website = {{URL|https://www.energy.gov|Energy.gov}}
}}
The United States secretary of energy is the head of the United States Department of Energy, a member of the Cabinet of the United States and fifteenth in the presidential line of succession. The position was created on October 1, 1977, when President Jimmy Carter signed the Department of Energy Organization Act,{{Cite web |date=2007-07-12 |title=Department of Energy - Origins |url=http://energy.gov/about/origins.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070712133033/http://energy.gov/about/origins.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=2007-07-12 |access-date=2025-01-28 }} establishing the department. Originally, the secretary and the department focused on energy production and regulation. Over time, the emphasis shifted to developing technology for more efficient energy sources and energy education. After the Cold War, the department's attention also turned to radioactive waste disposal and environmental quality maintenance.{{Cite web |date=February 18, 2000 |title=The Clinton Administration |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/govt/admin/admin.htm |website=The Washington Post}} Former secretary of defense James Schlesinger was the first secretary of energy. As a Republican nominated by Democratic President Jimmy Carter, Schlesinger’s appointment remains the only instance of a president choosing a member of another political party for the position. Schlesinger is also the only secretary to be dismissed from the post.{{Cite web |title=U.S. Department of Defense |url=https://www.defense.gov/ |access-date=2025-01-28 |website=U.S. Department of Defense |language=en-US}} Hazel O'Leary, Bill Clinton’s first secretary of energy, was the first female and first African American to hold the position.{{Cite web |title=President Hazel R. O'Leary Honored by Urban League |url=http://www.fisk.edu/fisk_headlines/august/stories/oleary.htm |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20090107085730/http://www.fisk.edu:80/fisk_headlines/august/stories/oleary.htm |archive-date=2009-01-07 |access-date=2025-01-28 |website=www.fisk.edu}} The first Hispanic to serve as energy secretary was Clinton’s second energy secretary, Federico Peña. Spencer Abraham became the first Arab American to hold the position on January 20, 2001, under President George W. Bush. Steven Chu, appointed on January 20, 2009, under President Barack Obama, became the first Asian American to hold the position. Chu also served as the longest-serving secretary of energy and was the first individual to join the Cabinet after having received a Nobel Prize.{{Cite news |last=Rudin |first=Ken |date=2008-12-15 |title=Nobel Prize Winners In The Cabinet |url=https://www.npr.org/sections/politicaljunkie/2008/12/nobel_prize_winners_in_the_cab.html |access-date=2025-01-28 |work=NPR |language=en}} Former Michigan governor, Jennifer Granholm, confirmed on February 25, 2021 under President Joe Biden, was the second woman to lead the Department of Energy.{{Cite web |title=Secretaries of Energy |url=https://www.energy.gov/lm/secretaries-energy |access-date=2023-11-21 |website=Energy.gov |language=en}} Chris Wright is the current secretary of energy under the Trump administration, confirmed on February, 4, 2025.{{Cite web |title=Senate confirms fracking executive Chris Wright as Trump's energy secretary |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/us/wright-draws-enough-senate-votes-become-us-energy-secretary-2025-02-03/ |access-date=2025-02-11 |website=reuters.com |language=en}}
Nuclear weapons
In addition to responsibilities related to generation and use of energy, the secretary is the most senior official other than the president of the United States or secretary of defense with primary responsibility for the nation's approximately 3,800 viable nuclear weapons. This arrangement is intended to maintain full civilian control over strategic weapons, except as directed by the president for specific military uses.{{cite web |url=https://maint.loc.gov/law/help/statutes-at-large/79th-congress/session-2/c79s2ch724.pdf |title=Atomic Energy Act of 1946 |publisher = US Library of Congress | access-date=September 22, 2024}} The department of energy is responsible for the building, maintenance, and disposal of all nuclear weapons within the United States' arsenal in addition to safeguarding these weapons when they are not actively deployed in military service.{{cite web |url=https://www.energy.gov/nnsa/maintaining-stockpile |title=Maintaining the Stockpile |publisher = US Department of Energy | access-date=September 22, 2024}} Under the terms of several successive treaties, most recently New START, the United States has reduced its strategic arsenal to 1,500 deployed weapons. Consequently, many older legacy weapons systems have been dismantled or scheduled for dismantlement, with their core radioactive fuel - generally plutonium - being reprocessed into reactor-grade or space exploration fuel.{{cite web |url=https://world-nuclear.org/information-library/nuclear-fuel-cycle/uranium-resources/military-warheads-as-a-source-of-nuclear-fuel |title=Military Warheads as a Source of Nuclear Fuel |publisher = World Nuclear Association | access-date=September 22, 2024}}
List of secretaries of energy
; Parties
{{Legend inline|{{party color|Democratic Party (United States)}}|Democratic|border=1px solid #AAAAAA}} (7) {{Legend inline|{{party color|Republican Party (United States)}}|Republican|border=1px solid #AAAAAA}} (11)
;Status
{{Legend inline|#E6E6AA|Acting Secretary of Energy|border=1px solid #AAAAAA}}
| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center" |
| No.
!class=unsortable |Portrait !Name !State of residence !Took office !Left office !Party !colspan=2 |President(s) |
|---|
| style="background: {{party color|Republican Party (United States)}};" |{{color|white|1}}
|{{sortname|James|Schlesinger|James R. Schlesinger}} |{{Date table sorting|1977|8|6|format=mdy}} |{{Date table sorting|1979|8|23|format=mdy}} |rowspan=2 style="background: {{party color|Democratic Party (United States)}};" | |rowspan=2 |{{sortname|Jimmy|Carter}} |
| style="background: {{party color|Democratic Party (United States)}};" |{{color|white|2}}
|{{sortname|Charles|Duncan|Charles Duncan Jr.}} |{{Date table sorting|1979|8|24|format=mdy}} |{{Date table sorting|1981|1|20|format=mdy}} |
| style="background: {{party color|Republican Party (United States)}};" |{{color|white|3}}
|{{sortname|James|Edwards|James B. Edwards}} |{{Date table sorting|1981|1|23|format=mdy}} |{{Date table sorting|1982|11|5|format=mdy}} |Republican |rowspan=3 style="background: {{party color|Republican Party (United States)}};" | |rowspan=3 |{{sortname|Ronald|Reagan}} |
| style="background: {{party color|Republican Party (United States)}};" |{{color|white|4}}
|{{sortname|Donald|Hodel|Donald P. Hodel}} |{{Date table sorting|1982|11|5|format=mdy}} |{{Date table sorting|1985|2|7|format=mdy}} |Republican |
| style="background: {{party color|Republican Party (United States)}};" |{{color|white|5}}
|{{sortname|John|Herrington|John S. Herrington}} |{{Date table sorting|1985|2|7|format=mdy}} |{{Date table sorting|1989|1|20|format=mdy}} |Republican |
| style="background: {{party color|Republican Party (United States)}};" |{{color|white|6}}
|{{sortname|James|Watkins|James D. Watkins}} |California |{{Date table sorting|1989|3|1|format=mdy}} |{{Date table sorting|1993|1|20|format=mdy}} |Republican |style="background: {{party color|Republican Party (United States)}};" | |{{sortname|George H. W.|Bush}} |
| style="background: {{party color|Democratic Party (United States)}};" |{{color|white|7}}
|{{sortname|Hazel|O'Leary|Hazel R. O'Leary}} |Virginia |{{Date table sorting|1993|1|22|format=mdy}} |{{Date table sorting|1997|1|20|format=mdy}} |Democratic |rowspan=4 style="background: {{party color|Democratic Party (United States)}};" | |rowspan=4 |{{sortname|Bill|Clinton}} |
| style="background: {{party color|Democratic Party (United States)}};" |{{color|white|–}}
|style="background:#e6e6aa;" |100px |style="background:#e6e6aa;" |{{sortname|Charles B.|Curtis}} |style="background:#e6e6aa;" |Pennsylvania |style="background:#e6e6aa;" |{{Date table sorting|1997|1|20|format=mdy}} |style="background:#e6e6aa;" |{{Date table sorting|1997|3|12|format=mdy}} |style="background:#e6e6aa;" |Democratic |
| style="background: {{party color|Democratic Party (United States)}};" |{{color|white|8}}
|{{sortname|Federico|Peña}} |{{Date table sorting|1997|3|12|format=mdy}} |{{Date table sorting|1998|6|30|format=mdy}} |Democratic |
| style="background: {{party color|Democratic Party (United States)}};" |{{color|white|9}}
|{{sortname|Bill|Richardson}} |{{Date table sorting|1998|8|18|format=mdy}} |{{Date table sorting|2001|1|20|format=mdy}} |Democratic |
| style="background: {{party color|Republican Party (United States)}};" |{{color|white|10}}
|{{sortname|Spencer|Abraham}} |{{Date table sorting|2001|1|20|format=mdy}} |{{Date table sorting|2005|2|1|format=mdy}} |Republican |rowspan=2 style="background: {{party color|Republican Party (United States)}};" | |rowspan=2 |{{sortname|George W.|Bush}} |
| style="background: {{party color|Republican Party (United States)}};" |{{color|white|11}}
|{{sortname|Samuel|Bodman}} |{{Date table sorting|2005|2|1|format=mdy}} |{{Date table sorting|2009|1|20|format=mdy}} |Republican |
| style="background: {{party color|Democratic Party (United States)}};" |{{color|white|12}}
|{{sortname|Steven|Chu}} |California |{{Date table sorting|2009|1|20|format=mdy}} |{{Date table sorting|2013|4|22|format=mdy}} |Democratic |rowspan=3 style="background: {{party color|Democratic Party (United States)}};" | |rowspan=3 |{{sortname|Barack|Obama}} |
| style="background: {{party color|Democratic Party (United States)}};" |{{color|white|–}}
|style="background:#e6e6aa;" |100px |style="background:#e6e6aa;" |{{sortname|Daniel|Poneman}} |style="background:#e6e6aa;" |Ohio |style="background:#e6e6aa;" |{{Date table sorting|2013|4|22|format=mdy}} |style="background:#e6e6aa;" |{{Date table sorting|2013|5|21|format=mdy}} |style="background:#e6e6aa;" |Democratic |
| style="background: {{party color|Democratic Party (United States)}};" |{{color|white|13}}
|{{sortname|Ernest|Moniz}} |{{Date table sorting|2013|5|21|format=mdy}} |{{Date table sorting|2017|1|20|format=mdy}} |Democratic |
| style="background:#e6e6aa;" |{{color|black|–}}
|style="background:#e6e6aa;" |133x133px |style="background:#e6e6aa;" |{{sortname|Grace|Bochenek}} |style="background:#e6e6aa;" | |style="background:#e6e6aa;" |{{Date table sorting|2017|1|20|format=mdy}} |style="background:#e6e6aa;" |{{Date table sorting|2017|3|2|format=mdy}} |style="background:#e6e6aa;" | |rowspan=4 style="background: {{party color|Republican Party (United States)}};" | |rowspan=4 |{{sortname|Donald|Trump}} |
| style="background: {{party color|Republican Party (United States)}};" |{{color|white|14}}
|{{sortname|Rick|Perry}} |{{Date table sorting|2017|3|2|format=mdy}} |{{Date table sorting|2019|12|1|format=mdy}} |Republican |
| rowspan=2 style="background: {{party color|Republican Party (United States)}};" |{{color|white|15}}
|rowspan=2 |100px |rowspan=2 |{{sortname|Dan|Brouillette}} |rowspan=2 |Texas |bgcolor="#E6E6AA" |{{Date table sorting|2019|12|1|format=mdy}} |bgcolor="#E6E6AA" |{{Date table sorting|2019|12|4|format=mdy}} |rowspan=2 |Republican |
| {{Date table sorting|2019|12|4|format=mdy}}
|{{Date table sorting|2021|1|20|format=mdy}} |
| style="background: {{party color|Democratic Party (United States)}};" |{{color|white|–}}
|style="background:#e6e6aa;" |File:David G. Huizenga official portrait.jpg |style="background:#e6e6aa;" |{{sortname|David|Huizenga}} |style="background:#e6e6aa;" | |style="background:#e6e6aa;" |{{Date table sorting|2021|1|20|format=mdy}} |style="background:#e6e6aa;" |{{Date table sorting|2021|2|25|format=mdy}} |style="background:#e6e6aa;" |Democratic |rowspan=2 style="background: {{party color|Democratic Party (United States)}};" | |rowspan=2 |{{sortname|Joe|Biden}} |
| style="background: {{party color|Democratic Party (United States)}};" |{{color|white|16}}
|File:Secretary Jennifer Granholm (June 2021).jpg |{{sortname|Jennifer|Granholm}} |{{Date table sorting|2021|2|25|format=mdy}} |{{Date table sorting|2025|1|20|format=mdy}} |Democratic |
| style="background: {{party color|Republican Party (United States)}};" |{{color|white|–}}
|style="background:#e6e6aa;" |125x125px |style="background:#e6e6aa;" |{{sortname|Ingrid|Kolb}} |style="background:#e6e6aa;" | |style="background:#e6e6aa;" |{{Date table sorting|2025|1|20|format=mdy}} |style="background:#e6e6aa;" | {{Date table sorting|2025|2|04|format=mdy}} |style="background:#e6e6aa;" |Republican |rowspan=2 style="background: {{party color|Republican Party (United States)}};" | |rowspan=2|{{sortname|Donald|Trump}} |
| style="background: {{party color|Republican Party (United States)}};" |{{color|white|17}}
|{{sortname|Chris|Wright}} |{{Date table sorting|2025|2|04|format=mdy}} |present |Republican |
See also
References
{{reflist}}
External links
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