What do you do if a president-elect asks you to lead a government agency that you famously wanted to abolish?

Well, if you're former Texas governor Rick Perry, you immediately fess up and apologize to the senate at the start of your confirmation hearing.。

On Thursday, Perry told the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources that -- surprise! -- he no longer wants to abolish the Energy Department, which is tasked with overseeing the nation's nuclear weapons stockpile and promoting energy research, among other duties.。

"I have learned a great deal about the important work being done every day by the outstanding men and women of the Department of Energy," Perry said.。

"My past statements made over five years ago about abolishing the Department of Energy do not reflect my current thinking," he said.。

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"In fact, after being briefed on so many of the vital functions of the Department of Energy, I regret recommending its elimination."。

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As Energy secretary, Perry would be one of the leading figures responsible for monitoring Iran’s compliance with the 2015 nuclear agreement, and would also play a key role in directing any Trump administration effort to revamp U.S. nuclear weapons programs.。

Perry marks a sharp shift for the Energy Department, which is an agency that deals with specialized scientific applications, including supercomputers that help project climate change scenarios and programs that aim to assure the safety and effectiveness of nuclear weapons. 。

Perry's predecessors at the agency, Secretary Ernest Moniz and former secretary Steven Chu, were both well-known physicists. Chu, in fact, had a Nobel Prize in the subject.。