Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm was heavily criticized Friday after a Fox News Digital report showed she spoke twice with a top Chinese government official before the White House announced plans to tap emergency oil stocks.
According to internal Department of Energy (DOE) calendars obtained by Americans for Public Trust, Granholm consulted China National Energy Administration Chairman Zhang Jianhua, a senior member of the Chinese Communist Party, Nov. 19, 2021, and two days later on Nov. 21, 2021.
On Nov. 23, 2021, the White House announced a release of 50 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR).
“Before telling the American people of their plans to undermine our energy security by draining the SPR at record rates for political purposes before the midterm elections, Secretary Granholm reportedly first secretly consulted with the Chinese Communist Party,” House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers said in a statement.
