WASHINGTON (CN) — Across the U.S. Senate, a trio of President Joe Biden’s Cabinet picks made their case Wednesday for confirmation to roles managing the nation’s energy infrastructure, its veterans’ affairs, and its diplomatic mission at the United Nations.
Biden has been in office one week today, and the newly Democrat-majority Senate has moved at a rapid clip to flesh out the nascent administration’s leadership roles.
On Wednesday morning, the day-long slog of confirmation began with consideration of Secretary of Energy nominee Jennifer Granholm and the potential new U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield.
Of the two hearings, Thomas-Greenfield’s confirmation before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee was the rockiest with outgoing Chairman James Risch, an Iowa Republican, grilling Thomas-Greenfield about a speech she delivered in October 2019 at the Savanah State University Confucius Institute in Georgia.
The institute was shuttered last year as concerns mounted nationwide over the influence the Chinese government might have on U.S. academic institutions.
In her speech, Thomas-Greenfield, a Black woman and 35-year veteran of the foreign service, remarked on the relationship between China, the United States and Africa, appearing to suggest there was not a cold war between the U.S. and China and that China’s involvement in Africa’s economy was welcomed, bringing very few drawbacks for the continent.
Republican lawmakers like Risch and Senator Marco Rubio of Florida complained that the speech was too soft on China, and Rubio in particular appeared dismayed the nominee was unaware of the Chinese government’s connection to the Confucius Institute in Savannah, Georgia, where she had given a speech in 2019.
Offering robust apologies, Thomas-Greenfield still defended the choice to a point, saying she only accepted the speaking engagement because of her close relationship to the historical Black college that hosted the event. Once she learned of the institute’s connections to China, she said Wednesday, she became “alarmed” and effectively sickened at the idea that Black students were being preyed upon by the Chinese government.
Despite the dust-up over the speech, Thomas-Greenfield was firm Wednesday, saying unequivocally that China is a “strategic adversary” to the U.S.
“Their actions threaten our security and our way of life. They’re a threat across the globe,” she said, also referring to the Chinese government repeatedly as “authoritarian” later in the hearing.
As America’s ambassador to the United Nations, if confirmed, Thomas-Greenfield’s agenda will be jam-packed. She will play in a key role alongside Biden’s pick for secretary of state Antony Blinken in the U.S. decision to reenter the Paris Climate Accord and she will also facilitate the transition of the U.S. back into the good graces of the World Health Organization.
A vote on her nomination is expected to be successful and could come over the next two weeks.
Meanwhile over at the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, Biden’s choice to lead the Department of Energy, Jennifer Granholm, squared off with lawmakers.
Granholm, once the governor of Michigan from 2003 to 2011, recently stepped down from her adjunct professor role at the University of California, Berkley, to accept the secretary nomination.
She is also a board member of the California-based electric vehicle manufacturer Proterra, holding between $1 million and $5 million in Proterra stocks, according to a financial disclosure statement provided to the committee. Granholm also holds a variety of investments in Duke Energy, Ford Motor and First Solar, but if confirmed she plans to divest all of her stakes within 90 days.
Granholm will also cease appearing as an analyst for CNN if confirmed, and she has vowed to divest from any holdings she has in the energy industry if ushered into the department’s top spot.