Granholm pitches Biden's big plans in Michigan homecoming

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: Axios

2 hours ago


Culvert Township, Mich. — Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm barnstormed across the Midwest this week, selling President Biden's legislative record on factory floors and union halls as Democrats urgently courted a critical swing state.

Why it matters: The White House knows it has some distance to travel to convince November voters that Biden's infrastructure, chips and green energy bills will translate into smoother roads, busier factories and better-paying jobs.

Biden's team also knows that former President Trump — who'll be in Wisconsin next week — sees a chance to cut into Biden's union support by savaging the administration's new regulations to promote EVs, which many autoworkers see as a threat to their jobs.

Enter Granholm, a former two-term Michigan governor, bearing job announcements and big checks.

"I don't think people have really appreciated the fact that federal policy actually works," Granholm told Axios in an interview here, where she announced a $1.52 billion loan guarantee to help restart a shuttered nuclear power plant.

If approved by federal regulators, the plant would be the first recommissioned nuclear reactor in U.S. history — and provide 1,000 union construction jobs.

"All of this activity ... is not just coincidence," Granholm said. "We have a president who gets the importance of bringing jobs back and investing in America."

Between the lines: Granholm's four-day swing through Ohio, Michigan and Wisconsin was part of Biden's post-State of the Union push to tout his official agenda.

Read more: https://www.axios.com/2024/03/29/jennifer-granholm-energy-secretary-michigan