Energy Secretary Rick Perry informed President Donald Trump on Thursday that he would soon step down from his cabinet position, as attention continues to focus on his role in the Ukraine scandal that has launched an impeachment investigation against the president.

According to Bloomberg, which first reported the news, Perry notified the president of his decision in writing on Air Force One on the way to Texas, where Trump was due to attend an event with Dallas supporters on Thursday evening.

BuzzFeed News subsequently independently confirmed the report.

As recently as 10 days ago, Perry had downplayed rumors of his imminent departure. “They’ve been writing the story that I was leaving the Department of Energy for at least nine months now. One of these days they will probably get it right,” he said. “But it’s not today, it’s not tomorrow, not next month. Keep saying it and one day you’ll be right.”

Perry is one of several top Trump officials and allies who has come under the scrutiny of House members as part of their impeachment investigation. Investigators issued subpoenas against him on Oct. 10 as part of a probe to determine if he improperly sought to influence Ukraine’s state-owned gas company.

As the energy secretary, Perry helped promote President Trump’s fossil fuel agenda in the US and abroad, including advocating for exporting natural gas to Eastern Europe and helping secure coal exports to Ukraine. But he also had an expanded role in Ukraine, replacing Vice President Mike Pence in leading the US delegation attending Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky’s inauguration in May.



Perry’s repeated interactions with Ukrainian officials, including just in September, have recently made him a person of interest in the congressional probe, which was prompted by a whistleblower complaint into Trump’s dealings with Ukraine. At the center of the whistleblower complaint is a July phone call Trump made to Zelensky, where he asked a "favor" of the new Ukrainian president to investigate a political rival, Joe Biden. Trump reportedly said he only made the controversial phone call because Perry asked him to, saying it had to do with “something about an LNG (liquefied natural gas) plant,” Axios first reported.

In an interview published Wednesday night, Perry told the Wall Street Journal that Trump asked him to speak with Rudy Giuliani, a lawyer aiding the president, this past spring about corruption in Ukraine.

“And as I recall the conversation, he said, ‘Look, the president is really concerned that there are people in Ukraine that tried to beat him during this presidential election,’” Perry told the Journal. “‘He thinks they’re corrupt and…that there are still people over there engaged that are absolutely corrupt.’” Perry said Giuliani did not make any specific demands and said he never heard Giuliani, Trump, or others specifically mention the possibility of investigating Biden.

Deputy Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette will take over as the agency’s acting head, and it’s unclear if the White House will nominate him or someone else to permanently lead the agency.