Closing Energy Dept. Under Review Again
White House advisers are considering reviving a plan to abolish the Energy Department, Administration officials said Wednesday.
The opportunity to close the department’s doors could arise, the officials said, because of the resignation of Interior Secretary William P. Clark. They said that many of the Energy Department’s offices could be moved to the Interior Department if President Reagan names Energy Secretary Donald P. Hodel as Clark’s successor.
The officials said in Los Angeles that Hodel, who was undersecretary of the Interior under James G. Watt, has the inside track to replace Clark if he wants the job.
Any plans to merge two departments or parcel out Energy Department offices to other branches of the government would require congressional approval.
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