Former Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm is joining the board of a major U.S. utility company that received millions of taxpayer dollars from Granholm’s agency on her watch.
Granholm will be a board member for Edison International, a major utility holding company, and she will also sit on the board for Southern California Edison (SCE), a subsidiary of the holding company, Edison International announced on Thursday. SCE was part of a group of California-based entities that received $600 million in taxpayer cash from Granholm’s Department of Energy (DOE) in August 2024.
“Though they promised us something far different, the Biden administration revolving door looks to be still whirring fast enough to power a major city,” Michael Chamberlain, executive director of Protect the Public’s Trust, told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “Incidents of former powerful government officials cashing in on their government service by leaving to work for companies that had matters before the department while they were there is a major contributor to the precipitous decline in the public’s trust in government.”
REPORTER: “Gas prices are now up…The President took credit for the prices going down…Does the President get credit for the price…going up?”
SEC. GRANHOLM: “It’s obviously based on international and climate events.” pic.twitter.com/MvDfFBMUX3
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) January 23, 2023
Granholm will officially assume her new positions on April 11, Edison International said in its announcement. The company touted Granholm’s public sector experience as energy secretary and governor of Michigan as qualifications that it believes will make her a good addition to its business.
“Jennifer’s experience as a leader familiar with cybersecurity, physical security and clean energy resources ― and known for working in partnership with utilities and other industries ― will allow her to make important contributions to Edison International, including SCE and Trio,” Peter J. Taylor, Edison International board chair, said in a statement. The DOE’s 2024 award to SCE and its partner organizations did not have anything to do with the decision to bring Granholm onto the company’s board, a SCE spokeswoman told the DCNF.
Notably, Edison is currently investigating whether its equipment may have started one of the enormous fires that devastated the Los Angeles area in January, according to Bloomberg News.
Granholm served as energy secretary for the entirety of the Biden administration, and the DOE shelled out tens of billions of taxpayer dollars in her tenure to subsidize green energy projects and related infrastructure. In fact, the DOE’s Loan Programs Office rushed to push billions of dollars in loans out the door through the lame duck period despite concerns from elected Republicans and the agency’s internal watchdog that taxpayer dollars may be at increased risk.
Moreover, Granholm’s early days in the Biden administration were marked by controversy over her personal investments in Proterra, an electric bus manufacturer that the Biden administration was promoting while Granholm had a stake in the firm. She eventually cleared her position in May 2021 and netted capital gains of about $1.6 million.
Granholm is the latest Biden administration official to find a new gig after leaving office, with many heading back into “the swamp” as their political party regroups.
(Featured Image Media Credit: Screen Capture/CSPAN)
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