Rep. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) has said he would be happy to serve in President-elect Donald Trump’s Cabinet, local media reported Saturday. “I would say yes. Obviously, I would be very honored to do it,” he said in a Minot Daily News article.
Cramer is reported to be in the running to become secretary of energy, along with Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.). The article reported that the lawmaker met with Trump on Dec. 5 to talk about the position, but “Cramer said he did not seek the position during the discussion. He and his wife have determined to leave the decision up to Trump as to whether he should become energy secretary or work to advance Trump’s energy agenda as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives.”
Cramer, who last month won a third term in office, served as Trump’s energy adviser during his campaign. Cramer, who has received significant campaign funding from the oil and gas and electric utilities industries, opposes regulation as a means to achieve a low-carbon future. The lawmaker has been a vocal opponent of the Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Power Plan, carbon emissions standards for existing coal-fired power plants, and said he would recommend Trump scrap the rule in favor of a carbon fee, the proceeds of which would fund fossil energy research.
A decision on the secretary of energy post is expected soon, perhaps as early as this week. Reports over the weekend indicated that former Texas Gov. Rick Perry could be the leading candidate for the job. Perry, during his failed 2012 bid for the presidency, said he wanted to scrap the Energy Department.