Despite President Donald Trump's hints over the summer, Energy Secretary Rick Perry has ruled out running against Texas Sen. Ted Cruz next year.
"Not happening," Perry said on CBS News' "The Takeout" podcast.
"No. And I'm not going to run for public office again. I mean I can pretty much, categorically say [that] here on 'Takeout,'" the former Texas governor added, though admitting that he never wants to fully rule it out.
Trump said in August at a fundraiser in Austin that he's "been hearing a lot about" Perry running to unseat Cruz.
"I don't know if he wants to do it, but boy, will he do well," the president added, according to the Texas Tribune. "People love him in Texas, and he was one great governor."
Perry admitted that Trump "alluded" to him running, but said that he "stepped on that very quickly."
The secretary also addressed the recent controversy over his fellow Cabinet members overusing taxpayer-funded flights for personal reasons, which caused Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price to resign.
"I look at it like this: You need to be thoughtful, you need to be realizing that that's an easy story to write. So don't put yourself in a position that they can easily attack you," Perry said.
"With that said, there's a balance that goes on. You have to go places," he continued. "The balance is, the people need to see you've got a job to do. The same thing is true here. The Department of Energy has 17 labs flung all across this country — a lot of them chosen specifically for sites that are very far away from populations."