Article snippet: Energy Secretary MORE, will step down from his Cabinet post at the end of the year, Trump said Thursday. The president told reporters at the start of a ribbon-cutting event at a Louis Vuitton factory in Alvorado, Texas, that he already has a replacement for Perry, but he did not say who it would be. Trump said he would make the announcement shortly. “Rick and I have been talking for six months. In fact, I thought he might go a bit sooner. But he’s got some very big plans. He’s going to be very successful. We have his successor, we’ll announce it pretty soon," Trump said. Trump spoke fondly of Perry during the event, introducing the former Texas governor as a "very good friend of mine," adding "I'm going to miss you so much." “We’ll be announcing the replacement, and he — I think it’s a he in this particular case — I think he’ll do a fantastic job," Trump added. "We worked on that together. Right, Rick?" Perry's resignation had been expected for weeks, particularly after news of his involvement in Trump's efforts to encourage Ukraine to investigate former Vice President MORE's son Hunter, who once sat on the board of a Ukrainian energy company. Perry was one of the “three amigos” dealing with Ukraine, alongside former special envoy MORE (D-Va.), who cited the recent testimony of a top State Department official. Trump is said to have named Perry as the impetus for the July 25 call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that is at the center of the impeachment... Link to the full article to read more