United States Energy Secretary
President Joe Biden's nominee to be Secretary of Energy, former Michigan governor Jennifer Granholm, was confirmed on February 25, 2021. Granholm is the second woman to lead the Department of Energy.
Nuclear weapons
In addition to responsibilities related to generation and use of energy, the secretary is the most senior official other than the president of the United States or Secretary of Defense with primary responsibility for the nation's ~3,800 viable nuclear weapons. This arrangement is intended to maintain full civilian control over strategic weapons, except as directed by the president for specific military uses. The department of energy is responsible for the building, maintenance, and disposal of all nuclear weapons within the United States' arsenal in addition to safeguarding these weapons when they are not actively deployed in military service. Under the terms of several successive treaties, most recently New START, the United States has reduced its strategic arsenal to 1500 deployed weapons. Consequently, many older legacy weapons systems have been dismantled or scheduled for dismantlement, with their core radioactive fuel - generally plutonium - being reprocessed into reactor-grade or space exploration fuel.
List of secretaries of energy
- Parties
Democratic (7) Republican (9)
Status
Acting Secretary of Energy
No. | Portrait | Name | State of residence | Took office | Left office | Party | President(s) | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | ![]() |
James Schlesinger | Virginia | August 6, 1977 | August 23, 1979 | Republican | Jimmy Carter | |
2 | ![]() |
Charles Duncan | Texas | August 24, 1979 | January 20, 1981 | Democratic | ||
3 | ![]() |
James Edwards | South Carolina | January 23, 1981 | November 5, 1982 | Republican | Ronald Reagan | |
4 | Donald Hodel | Oregon | November 5, 1982 | February 7, 1985 | Republican | |||
5 | ![]() |
John Herrington | California | February 7, 1985 | January 20, 1989 | Republican | ||
6 | ![]() |
James Watkins | California | March 1, 1989 | January 20, 1993 | Republican | George H. W. Bush | |
7 | ![]() |
Hazel O'Leary | Virginia | January 22, 1993 | January 20, 1997 | Democratic | Bill Clinton | |
– | ![]() |
Charles B. Curtis | Pennsylvania | January 20, 1997 | March 12, 1997 | Democratic | ||
8 | ![]() |
Federico Peña | Colorado | March 12, 1997 | June 30, 1998 | Democratic | ||
9 | ![]() |
Bill Richardson | New Mexico | August 18, 1998 | January 20, 2001 | Democratic | ||
10 | ![]() |
Spencer Abraham | Michigan | January 20, 2001 | February 1, 2005 | Republican | George W. Bush | |
11 | ![]() |
Samuel Bodman | Illinois | February 1, 2005 | January 20, 2009 | Republican | ||
12 | ![]() |
Steven Chu | California | January 20, 2009 | April 22, 2013 | Democratic | Barack Obama | |
– | ![]() |
Daniel Poneman | Ohio | April 22, 2013 | May 21, 2013 | Democratic | ||
13 | ![]() |
Ernest Moniz | Massachusetts | May 21, 2013 | January 20, 2017 | Democratic | ||
– | ![]() |
Grace Bochenek | January 20, 2017 | March 2, 2017 | Donald Trump | |||
14 | ![]() |
Rick Perry | Texas | March 2, 2017 | December 1, 2019 | Republican | ||
15 | ![]() |
Dan Brouillette | Texas | December 1, 2019 | December 4, 2019 | Republican | ||
December 4, 2019 | January 20, 2021 | |||||||
– | ![]() |
David Huizenga | January 20, 2021 | February 25, 2021 | Democratic | Joe Biden | ||
16 | ![]() |
Jennifer Granholm | Michigan | February 25, 2021 | Incumbent | Democratic |