Donald Trump has chosen former Texas Governor Rick Perry to be energy secretary. Governor Perry famously attempted to propose to abolish the Energy Department—but then couldn’t even remember the agency during a live televised debate in 2011, when Perry was running for president. Perry has deep ties to the fossil fuel industry, including serving on the corporate boards of both Energy Transfer Partners and Sunoco Logistics, two companies behind the Dakota Access pipeline. Both companies are owned by Texas billionaire Kelcy Warren. Perry joined the board of Energy Transfer Partners in February 2015, only two weeks after he left office. That year, he received $365,000 from Warren’s companies. We speak to Forrest Wilder, editor-in-chief of The Texas Observer, and Kiah Collier, energy and environment reporter for The Texas Tribune.