The Latest: Trump selects Rick Perry as energy secretary

The Latest on Donald Trump's transition to the presidency. (All times EST):

6:10 a.m.

President-elect Donald Trump has announced his selection of former campaign rival Rick Perry to be the country's next secretary of energy.

In a statement early Wednesday on his decision, Trump said that Perry, a former governor of Texas, had led his state through "a sustained period of economic growth and prosperity" by developing its energy resources and infrastructure.

Trump says in his statement that his administration "is going to make sure we take advantage of our huge natural resource deposits to make America energy independent and create vast new wealth for our nation."

Perry calls it "a tremendous honor" to be chosen for Trump's Cabinet. Perry adds that he looks forward to "engaging in a conversation" about America's energy future.

3:15 a.m.

In selecting Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson as his secretary of state, President-elect Donald Trump is making the same bet he asked voters to make on him: that a track record of business accomplishment will translate into success in government.

Indeed, Trump, the first billionaire businessman to win the White House, is broadly testing that proposition across his administration. He's tapped fast food executive Andy Puzder to lead the Labor Department, billionaire investor Wilbur Ross for Commerce, financier Steven Mnuchin as Treasury secretary and Goldman Sachs President Gary Cohn as his top economic adviser.

But he's taking perhaps his biggest chance on Tillerson, pulling an executive from the rough-and-tumble world of oil production into the delicate arena of international diplomacy. If confirmed by the Senate — and his deep ties to Russia make that no sure thing — Tillerson will be at the center of discussions over the Syrian civil war, the intractable pursuit of peace in the Middle East, and potential conflicts with China.