Energy Secretary Rick Perry says he's not interested in VA job

CNN/Stylemagazine.com Newswire | 3/15/2018, 12:09 p.m.
Energy Secretary Rick Perry said on Thursday he is not interested in leaving his post for another cabinet position.
Energy Secretary Rick Perry

By Gregory Wallace and Rene Marsh, CNN

(CNN) -- Energy Secretary Rick Perry said on Thursday he is not interested in leaving his post for another cabinet position.

Perry spoke as he arrived at a budget hearing on Capitol Hill, and told CNN he has no interest in replacing embattled Veteran Affairs Secretary David Shulkin.

"I've got the perfect job," Perry said.

"I'm a happy man," he told CNN, saying "no," when asked specifically if he was interested in the VA post.

President Donald Trump is making plans to replace Shulkin, two sources told CNN on Tuesday, and has considered Perry as a potential replacement, according to one source.

Trump and Perry met on Monday over lunch at the White House and discussed the possibility, according to the source.

There are other indications Trump is interested in a shake-up that could involve shedding and re-arranging his Cabinet. Trump said Tuesday he is "getting very close to having the Cabinet" he wants, and an administration official said Trump wants to purge "deadweight" from the ranks.

Shulkin has repeatedly drawn the ire of the White House, first for an overseas business trip last year that included sightseeing and Wimbledon, and then for his management of the department. Shulkin and other political appointees at the department have had a rocky relationship, and has taken to speaking to the media himself about internal attempts to oust him.

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