United States Secretary of Energy

Head of the US Department of Energy

United States Secretary of Energy

Seal of the department

Flag of the secretary

Incumbent
Jennifer Granholm

since February 25, 2021

United States Department of Energy
Style| Madam Secretary (informal)
The Honorable (formal)
Member of| United States Cabinet
United States National Security Council
Reports to| President of the United States
Seat| James V. Forrestal Building, Washington, D.C.
Appointer| The President of the United States
with Senate advice and consent
Term length| No fixed term
Constituting instrument| 42 U.S.C. § 7131
Formation| August 6, 1977
First holder| James R. Schlesinger
Succession| Fifteenth[1]
Deputy| Deputy Secretary
Salary| Executive Schedule, level I
Website| 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, establishing the department.[2] The energy secretary and the department originally focused on energy production and regulation. The emphasis soon shifted to developing technology for better and more efficient energy sources, as well as energy education. After the end of the Cold War, the department's attention also turned toward radioactive waste disposal and the maintenance of environmental quality.[3] Former secretary of defense James Schlesinger served as the first secretary of energy. As a Republican nominated to the post by Democratic president Jimmy Carter, Schlesinger's appointment marks the only time a president has chosen a member of another political party for the position. Schlesinger is also the only secretary to be dismissed from the post.[4] Hazel O'Leary, Bill Clinton's first secretary of energy, was the first female and first African American to hold the position.[5] The first Hispanic to serve as Energy Secretary was Clinton's second energy secretary, Federico Peña.[6] Spencer Abraham became the first Arab American to hold the position on January 20, 2001, serving under the administration of George W. Bush. Steven Chu became the first Asian American to hold the position on January 20, 2009, serving under president Barack Obama. Chu was also the longest-serving secretary of energy and the first individual to join the Cabinet after having received a Nobel Prize.[7]

President Joe Biden's nominee to be Secretary of Energy, former Michigan governor Jennifer Granholm, was confirmed on February 25, 2021. Granholm is the second woman to lead the Department of Energy.[8]

## Nuclear weapons

[edit]

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 ~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.[citation needed] 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. Under the terms of several successive treaties, most recently New START, the United States has reduced its strategic arsenal to 1500 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.[citation needed]

## List of secretaries of energy

[edit]

Parties

Democratic (7)  Republican (9)[citation needed]

Status

Acting Secretary of Energy

No.  | Portrait  | Name  | State of residence  | Took office  | Left office  | Party  | President(s)

|
|
|
|
|
|
|

1 |  | James Schlesinger | Virginia | August 6, 1977 | August 23, 1979 | Republican |  | Jimmy Carter
2 |  | Charles Duncan | Texas | August 24, 1979 | January 20, 1981 | Democratic
3 |  | James Edwards | South Carolina | January 23, 1981 | November 5, 1982 | Republican  |  | Ronald Reagan
4 |  | Donald Hodel | Oregon | November 5, 1982 | February 7, 1985 | Republican
5 |  | John Herrington | California | February 7, 1985 | January 20, 1989 | Republican
6 |  | James Watkins | California  | March 1, 1989 | January 20, 1993 | Republican  |  | George H. W. Bush
7 |  | Hazel O'Leary | Virginia  | January 22, 1993 | January 20, 1997 | Democratic  |  | Bill Clinton
– |  | Charles B. Curtis | Pennsylvania | January 20, 1997 | March 12, 1997 | Democratic
8 |  | Federico Peña | Colorado | March 12, 1997 | June 30, 1998 | Democratic
9 |  | Bill Richardson | New Mexico | August 18, 1998 | January 20, 2001 | Democratic
10 |  | Spencer Abraham | Michigan | January 20, 2001 | February 1, 2005 | Republican  |  | George W. Bush
11 |  | Samuel Bodman | Illinois | February 1, 2005 | January 20, 2009 | Republican
12 |  | Steven Chu | California  | January 20, 2009 | April 22, 2013 | Democratic  |  | Barack Obama
– |  | Daniel Poneman | Ohio | April 22, 2013 | May 21, 2013 | Democratic
13 |  | Ernest Moniz | Massachusetts | May 21, 2013 | January 20, 2017 | Democratic
– |  | Grace Bochenek |  | January 20, 2017 | March 2, 2017 |  |  | Donald Trump
14 |  | Rick Perry | Texas | March 2, 2017 | December 1, 2019 | Republican
15 |  | Dan Brouillette | Texas  | December 1, 2019 | December 4, 2019 | Republican
December 4, 2019 | January 20, 2021
– |  | David Huizenga |  | January 20, 2021 | February 25, 2021 | Democratic  |  | Joe Biden
16 |  | Jennifer Granholm | Michigan | February 25, 2021 | Incumbent | Democratic

## See also

[edit]

* United States Secretary of Transportation
* White House Office of Energy and Climate Change Policy

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "3 U.S. Code § 19 - Vacancy in offices of both President and Vice President; officers eligible to act | US Law | LII / Legal Information Institute". Law.cornell.edu. Retrieved June 14, 2017.
2. ^ "Origins". U.S. Department of Energy. Archived from the original on July 12, 2007. Retrieved July 29, 2007.
3. ^ "The Clinton Administration". The Washington Post. February 18, 2000. Retrieved July 29, 2007.
4. ^ "Biography of James Schlesinger Origins". U.S. Department of Defense. Retrieved August 13, 2007.
5. ^ "President Hazel R. O'Leary Honored by Urban League". Fisk University. Archived from the original on September 27, 2007. Retrieved August 13, 2007.
6. ^ "Federico F. Peña to be Sworn in as the Eighth Secretary of Energy". U.S. Department of Energy. Archived from the original on September 29, 2007. Retrieved August 13, 2007.
7. ^ Rudin, Ken (December 15, 2008). "npr.org". NPR. Retrieved November 21, 2023.
8. ^ "Secretaries of Energy". Energy.gov. Retrieved November 21, 2023.

## External links

[edit]

U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial)

Preceded by

Pete Buttigieg

as Secretary of Transportation |  Order of precedence of the United States
as Secretary of Energy | Succeeded by

Miguel Cardona

as Secretary of Education
U.S. presidential line of succession
Preceded by

Secretary of Transportation
Pete Buttigieg

|  15th in line
Ineligible | Succeeded by

Secretary of Education
Miguel Cardona

Links to related articles

* v
* t
* e

United States Secretaries of Energy

* Schlesinger
* Duncan
* Edwards
* Hodel
* Herrington
* Watkins
* O'Leary
* Peña
* Richardson
* Abraham
* Bodman
* Chu
* Moniz
* Perry
* Brouillette
* Granholm

* v
* t
* e

United States Department of Energy

* Headquarters: James V. Forrestal Building

* Jennifer Granholm, Secretary of Energy
* David Turk, Deputy Secretary of Energy

Deputy Secretary of Energy|

* Office of Intelligence and Counterintelligence
* Energy Information Administration
* Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy

Under Secretary of Energy for Infrastructure|

Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, & Energy Response

Under Secretary of Energy for Nuclear Security|

* National Nuclear Security Administration

Under Secretary of Energy for Science and Innovation|

* Office of Science
* OSTI
* Office of Electricity
* Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
* Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management
* Office of Nuclear Energy

Assistant Secretary of Energy for Nuclear Energy|

Office of Nuclear Energy

Power Marketing Administration|

* Bonneville Power Administration
* Southeastern Power Administration
* Southwestern Power Administration
* Western Area Power Administration

National Laboratory System|

* Ames
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* Z
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Energy Department Facilities and Reservations|

* Fernald NLO
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* Kansas City Plant
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Related Independent Agency|

* Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

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Leaders of the United States federal executive departments

Current|

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Past|

* Commerce and Labor
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Presidential line of succession in the United States of America

* Vice President (Kamala Harris)
* Speaker of the House of Representatives (Mike Johnson)
* President pro tempore of the Senate (Patty Murray)
* Secretary of State (Antony Blinken)
* Secretary of the Treasury (Janet Yellen)
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* Attorney General (Merrick Garland)
* Secretary of the Interior (Deb Haaland)
* Secretary of Agriculture (Tom Vilsack)
* Secretary of Commerce (Gina Raimondo)
* Secretary of Labor (Julie Su (acting)**)
* Secretary of Health and Human Services (Xavier Becerra)
* Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (Adrianne Todman (acting)**)
* Secretary of Transportation (Pete Buttigieg)
* Secretary of Energy (Jennifer Granholm*)
* Secretary of Education (Miguel Cardona)
* Secretary of Veterans Affairs (Denis McDonough)
* Secretary of Homeland Security (Alejandro Mayorkas*)

* Ineligible to act as president • ** Ambiguity exists concerning eligibility to act as president
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