Politics
Sen. Josh Hawley scolded Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm over her history of owning stocks without proper disclosure and accused her of being the face of “institutionalized corruption” at the department.
Granholm, the former Democratic governor of Michigan, was adamant that she simply made a “mistake” and didn’t realize she owned several stocks when she took the reigns as energy secretary — but Hawley (R-Mo.) was unconvinced.
“I just want to know who really runs the Energy Department. Is it you or is it the mega-corporations whose stock that you own that you’re making profit in,” Hawley fumed during a Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing on Tuesday.
Hawley and Granholm have tangled over her stock ownership in the past. Last year, she fessed up to delivering false testimony to the panel last April asserting that she didn’t own any individual stock.
Last June, she sent a letter to the committee setting the record straight, revealing that she discovered stocks in at least six companies and offloaded them that May.
One of those stocks was in Ford Motor Company, which she explained that her “husband had owned since he was very young.”
Ford has been a key player in the Biden administration’s efforts to boost sales of electric vehicles. The Energy Department has allocated more than $9 billion to help the company build factories devoted to electric energy in Kentucky and Tennessee.
The Missouri senator also drew attention to a Wall Street Journal report that exposed that hundreds of Energy Department officials owned stocks related to their work.
“You were presiding over institutionalized corruption in your Energy Department,” Hawley chided. “It is institutionalized corruption that you are now the face of.”
Granholm heartily disputed that allegation, noting that the department’s ethics office consults with employees about their stocks and potential conflicts of interest.
“They do not own stocks in areas that they have any influence over, nor do I,” she fired back.
She was also aghast at Hawley’s line of questioning, venting at one point, “This is unbelievable to me.”
Hawley wasn’t convinced and called it “outrageous” that so many Energy Department employees were trading stocks.
“All I have to say is this record is just deplorable. It is despicable. It is outrageous that hundreds of officers in the Energy Department are trading shares,” he said.
“It is outrageous that you’re going to conferences and events funded by foreign billionaires using dark money to try to influence our politics. This has got to change and frankly, you should go.”
At one point, Hawley referenced a watchdog finding that she breached the disclosure provisions of the Stock Act nine separate times and was accused of violations of the Hatch Act, which limits the political activity of public officials.
Last year, she ran into controversy after a report revealed that her staff used a gas-powered vehicle to hog an electric vehicle charging station during a four-day road trip to promote the administration’s green energy initiatives.
The Post contacted an Energy Department spokesperson for comment.
