The US Senate has confirmed former Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm as the nation’s new Energy Secretary.
Some Republicans are using Granholm’s confirmation to blast President Biden’s moves to accelerate the use of renewable energy to power the US economy.
As governor, Granholm pushed for green jobs while Michigan was hit hard by the Great Recession and the state’s auto industry teetered on bankruptcy.
Wyoming Republican Senator John Barrasso says Granholm still embraces green technology, but she will serve a president he claims is costing the US jobs by freezing oil and gas leases on federal lands and rejecting the Keystone pipeline which would bring oil from Canada.
“Governor Granholm also said that she didn’t want to see anyone lose their job or get left behind," said Barrasso. "Yet this is exactly what the Biden Administration is doing to thousands of energy workers.”
The Senate voted 64 to 35 to confirm Granholm.