President-elect Donald Trump has formally announced Rick Perry, a former Texas governor and Trump's one-time presidential rival, as his choice to lead the US Department of Energy.
If the nomination is confirmed by the Senate, the move would put Perry in charge of a federal department that he had proposed eliminating during his bid for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination.
The choice adds to the list of oil drilling advocates sceptical about climate change who have been picked for senior positions in Trump's Cabinet. The selections have worried environmentalists but cheered an industry eager for expansion.
The Energy Department is responsible for US energy policy and oversees the nation's nuclear weapons program.
Perry served as governor of Texas, a leading oil-producing state, from 2000 when he succeeded President George W Bush until 2015.
Perry was a fierce critic of Trump last year before dropping out of the race, calling him "a cancer on conservatism" who offered "a toxic mix of demagoguery and mean-spiritedness and nonsense."
Trump also had harsh things to say about Perry during the campaign, even belittling his eye glasses by saying, "He put on glasses so people will think he's smart."
Once Trump secured the nomination, Perry endorsed him as "the people's choice."
Perry has advocated lighter regulation on the fossil fuel industry, and has said that the science around climate change is "unsettled."
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