9 Aug 2023
The company’s failure drew a comparison to Solyndra, an alternative energy company that went bankrupt after receiving a $534 million loan guarantee under former President Barack Obama’s 2009 stimulus package. The Obama-Biden White House attempted to improperly rush federal regulators to approve the loan so Biden could announce it at a September 2009 groundbreaking for the company’s factor, Washington Post reported at the time.
“President Biden’s decision to heavily promote a business where his energy secretary holds a multimillion-dollar stake has all the potential to be even worse than Solyndra,” Sen. Ted Cruz told the Washington Free Beacon in 2021. “President Biden and Secretary Granholm should immediately remove themselves from their glaring conflict of interest.”
Granholm joined Proterra’s board in March 2017, aspiring to launch the company into the “next phase of strategic growth and national deployment,” according to a press release.
Then, Biden nominated Granholm to lead the U.S. Department of Energy in December 2020. She was ultimately confirmed on February 25, 2021. However, Granholm continued to hold up 240,520 Proterra shares, estimated to be worth up to $5 million, for several months into her tenure as Energy Secretary while Biden promoted the company.
Granholm’s critics criticized her for promoting the company in an official capacity and hyping grant access to companies connected to Proterra while she held her shares.
-
0 Comments