United States Deputy Secretary of Energy

Deputy Secretary of Energy
Seal of the U. S. Department of Energy
Incumbent James Danly since June 11, 2025 [1]
United States Department of Energy
Reports to	U. S. Secretary of Energy
Seat	Washington, D.C., United States
Appointer	The president with Senate advice and consent
Website	www.energy.gov

The deputy secretary of energy is a high-ranking position within the United States Department of Energy. The deputy secretary is the second-highest-ranking official of the department and assists the secretary of energy in the supervision and direction of the department. The deputy secretary succeeds the secretary in their absence, sickness, or unavailability.

The deputy secretary is appointed by the president with the consent of the United States Senate to serve at the request of the president.

History

The position of deputy secretary of energy was formed on October 1, 1977, with the creation of the Department of Energy when President Jimmy Carter signed the Department of Energy Organization Act. ^[2]

Deputy secretaries of energy

The following persons served as the deputy secretary of energy: ^{[3] : 129}

No.	Image	Deputy secretary	Took office	Left office	Refs.
1		John F. O'Leary	October 21, 1977	September 30, 1979	[3] : 129
2		John C. Sawhill	October 4, 1979	October 8, 1980	[3] : 129
Acting		Lynn Coleman	December 23, 1980	January 20, 1981	[3] : 129
3		W. Kenneth Davis	May 14, 1981	January 13, 1983	[3] : 129
4		Danny Julian Boggs	November 3, 1983	March 25, 1986	[3] : 129
5		William Flynn Martin	June 6, 1986	June 6, 1988	[3] : 129
6		Joseph F. Salgado	May 21, 1988	January 20, 1989	[3] : 129
7		Henson Moore	April 12, 1989	January 31, 1992	[3] : 129
8		Linda Stuntz	January 31, 1992	January 22, 1993	[3] : 129
9		William H. White	June 26, 1993	January 20, 1995	[3] : 129
10		Charles B. Curtis	August 1995	May 1997	[4]
11		Betsy Moler	1997	1998	[5]
12		T.J. Glauthier	March 18, 1999	2001	[6] [7]
13		Frank Blake	June 1, 2001	April 2002	[8]
14		Kyle E. McSlarrow	November 27, 2002	February 2005	[9]
15		Clay Sell	March 17, 2005	February 29, 2008	[10]
Acting		Jeffrey Kupfer	March 1, 2008	January 20, 2009	[11]
16		Daniel Poneman	May 18, 2009	October 5, 2014	[12] [13]
17		Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall	October 10, 2014	January 20, 2017	[14]
18		Dan Brouillette	August 8, 2017	December 4, 2019	[15]
Acting		Mark Menezes	December 4, 2019	August 4, 2020
19			August 4, 2020	January 20, 2021	[16] [17]
20		David Turk	March 25, 2021	January 20, 2025	[18] [19]
21		James Danly	June 11, 2025	Incumbent	[20]

References

1. @SecretaryWright (June 11, 2025). "I want to extend a warm welcome to @ENERGY's Deputy Secretary, James Danly!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
2. "Origins". United States Department of Energy. Archived from the original on July 12, 2007. Retrieved July 29, 2007.
3. Fehner, Terrence R.; Hall, Jack M. "Department of Energy 1997-1994, a summary history" (PDF).
4. "Charles B. Curtis". John E. Moss Foundation.
5. "BRIEFS: MOLER SWORN IN AS US DEPUTY ENERGY SECRETARY". The Journal of Commerce . June 17, 1997.
6. "T.J. Glauthier - Deputy Secretary". Archived from the original on 2000-09-19.
7. "People". Natural Gas Intelligence. August 31, 1998.
8. "Francis Blake - Deputy Secretary". Archived from the original on 2002-02-13.
9. "Kyle E. McSlarrow - Deputy Secretary of Energy". Archived from the original on 2002-12-18.
10. "Clay Sell". Archived from the original on 2006-09-22.
11. "Jeff Kupfer". Archived from the original on 2008-05-25.
12. "PONEMAN, SANDALOW, SUH, AND CONNOR NOMINATIONS". U.S Senate. May 5, 2009.
13. "Daniel B. Poneman, Deputy Secretary of Energy". Archived from the original on 2010-02-01.
14. "Dr. Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall". DOE.
15. "Dan Brouillette Sworn in as Deputy Secretary of the United States Department of Energy". DOE. August 8, 2017.
16. "Mark W. Menezes Confirmed by the U.S. Senate to be Deputy Secretary of Energy". DOE. August 4, 2020.
17. "Mark W. Menezes". DOE.
18. "David M. Turk Sworn In as Deputy Secretary of Energy". DOE. March 25, 2021.
19. "Former Deputy Secretary, U.S. Department of Energy". DOE.
20. "Danly confirmed as deputy energy secretary". ExchangeMonitor. May 14, 2025.