Rick Perry: podcast appearances and interviews

James Richard Perry, born on March 4, 1950, is an American politician known for serving as the 14th United States Secretary of Energy from 2017 to 2019. Prior to this national role, he served as the 47th governor of Texas from 2000 to 2015. Perry's political career began after he graduated from Texas A&M University in 1972 and completed a five-year service in the United States Air Force, achieving the rank of captain. He entered Texas politics in 1985 as a member of the Texas House of Representatives, initially as a Democrat before switching to the Republican Party in 1989. The following year, he was elected Agriculture Commissioner of Texas, and in 1998, he became the state's lieutenant governor. Perry assumed the governorship in December 2000 after Governor George W. Bush resigned to become President. He was elected to a full term in 2002 and was re-elected in 2006 and 2010, becoming Texas's longest-serving governor. During his tenure, Perry was known as a conservative policymaker implementing fiscal policies, restrictions on abortion, and expanded gun rights. He ran unsuccessfully for the Republican presidential nomination in 2012 and 2016. After choosing not to seek re-election as governor, he launched two presidential campaigns that failed to gain significant support. Initially opposed to Donald Trump's 2016 campaign, Perry later endorsed Trump after his nomination. Trump appointed Perry as Secretary of Energy, a role he held until his resignation in December 2019, which was related to his involvement in the Trump–Ukraine scandal.