Danny Ray Brouillette was born in Paincourtville, Louisiana, on August 18, 1962. He grew up in Louisiana but moved north to attend the University of Maryland, College Park, where he graduated with a bachelor’s degree. He then served in the United States Army as a tank commander.

From 1989 to 1997, Brouillette was chief of staff for Representative Billy Tauzin of Louisiana. He then became a lobbyist for R. Duffy Wall and Associates before rejoining the federal government as the Assistant Secretary of Energy for Congressional and Intergovernmental Affairs from 2001 to 2003 in the administration of George W. Bush. From 2003 to 2004, he was staff director for the House Energy and Commerce Committee. He left the government in 2004 to become a lobbyist for the Ford Motor Company and then vice president of the USAA, the United States Automobile Association, a financial services provider to the military.

President Donald chose Brouillette as the Deputy Secretary of Energy in 2017, where he worked with Secretary of Energy Rick Perry. When Perry resigned in 2019, Trump nominated Brouillette to replace him. The United States Senate confirmed Brouillette on December 2, 2019, by a vote of 70 to 15.