Trump officials to attend Saudi conference shunned after reporter death
Secretary of Energy Rick Perry on Trump's visit to Pennsylvania to discuss energy deregulation, protecting oil fields in Syria and reducing carbon emissions in Europe.
Energy Sec. Rick Perry, who is leaving the post by the end of the year, will attend the Saudi Arabian investment conference, a department spokesperson confirmed to FOX Business' Blake Burman.
Both Perry and Treasury Sec. Steven Mnuchin will travel to the conference. Mnuchin pulled out of the event in 2018 following the killing of Jamal Khashoggi, a journalist critical of the Saudi royal family.
Mnuchin wasn't the only one. Bain Capital's Stephen Pagliuca, JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon and others withdrew last year.
This year, however, some of the biggest banking and political players are slated to attend the Future Investment Initiative in Riyadh, on October 29 through 31. BlackRock, Inc. CEO Larry Fink, Goldman Sachs Group investment banking partner (and former White House aide) Dina Powell, Moelis & Company Vice Chairman Eric Cantor, himself a former GOP House majority leader, and World Bank President David Malpass are all scheduled to be attending, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
Perry visited Saudi Arabia in December 2018, a few months after the shunned conference's dates, because it is one of "America's most important strategic energy partners," according to a department press release.
President Trump on Friday nominated Dan Brouillette to replace Perry as the next U.S. energy secretary.
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FOX Business' Charles Gasparino and Lydia Moynihan contributed to this report.