Congressional Republicans are formalizing their complaints about President Joe Biden’s new climate czar, contending he has been installed in the position under parameters designed to “flout” the Senate confirmation process.
A letter sent Tuesday to Biden from House Energy and Commerce Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.) and Senate Environment and Public Works ranking member Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) signals the extent to which John Podesta will continue to be mired in election year politics — even if he won’t have to sit for confirmation hearings.
Podesta, who has been serving in the White House as a senior adviser overseeing Inflation Reduction Act implementation, took on additional responsibilities Wednesday under a new, additional title: senior adviser to the president for international climate policy.
Had Podesta been given the title of “climate envoy” — the distinction held by his immediate predecessor, John Kerry — he would have been subject to Senate confirmation. A recent defense bill, signed into law by Biden after Kerry had already been installed, contained a provision requiring confirmation for all special envoys going forward.
