Presumably Governor Perry wanted to do away with the Energy Department because he perceived it as the source of unwanted regulation in the energy sector, and also because he felt that private enterprise was sufficient to meet the nation’s needs in that area. Whether that view is valid, the energy secretary should be someone who is at least familiar with the strategic issues associated with both nuclear power and nuclear weapons, and ideally someone who is capable of digging down into the complex issues facing the United States in these areas. The next energy secretary should also have at least a modicum of policy experience with some of the vast array of fundamental science supported by the agency.

One need look back only to the complex negotiations surrounding the Iran nuclear deal, and remember Secretary Moniz huddling with Secretary of State John Kerry, and engaged in long meetings with his Iranian counterpart, another nuclear physicist, to appreciate how important it was to have someone there who actually knew what was required to produce viable nuclear weapons from nuclear reactor products, and what was required to ensure that treaty violations could be detected.

I met Governor Perry once, at the World Economic Forum. He seemed like a genuinely nice guy. After finding out I was a physicist, he singled me out in the audience while he was onstage, saying, “As Professor Krauss knows, you can violate the laws of physics, but only for a while.” My answer was, “Well, actually you can’t,” which was followed by a bit of nervous laughter from the crowd. That exchange came to mind this morning when I learned of his nomination.

Governor Perry may be a nice guy, and his free market instincts may mesh well with those of President-elect Donald J. Trump, but he has not demonstrated that he is the person for this job.

In the present climate, when nuclear tensions are higher than they have been since the height of the Cold War, when the Iran deal is under attack and proliferation in unstable countries like Pakistan and North Korea will affect plans for our own arsenal, we need someone who is better prepared to handle the challenges. This is also the case as the government makes decisions about supporting research that will affect the future of fundamental inquiry for much of this century.