(Bloomberg) -- President Donald Trump's Energy Secretary Rick Perry says he's not interested in replacing ousted Homeland Security chief Kirstjen Nielsen.
“I'm happy where I am and the president is happy where I am,” Perry said during a brief interview on Capitol Hill Monday.
Perry, an Air Force veteran who was Texas's longest-serving governor, has been previously considered to lead DHS, as well as other agencies such as Veterans Affairs.
Perry's name surfaced again Sunday after Trump removed his homeland security secretary amid frustration over the president's inability to fulfill his signature 2016 campaign promise to curb illegal immigration.
Perry, who during his 2012 run for president vowed to eliminate the Energy Department, has since said he has come to love his role running the agency, which has an annual budget of around $30 billion and a mission that includes safeguarding nuclear weapons and maintaining the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
To contact the reporter on this story: Ari Natter in Washington at anatter5@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Jon Morgan at jmorgan97@bloomberg.net, Laurie Asséo
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