Republican lawmakers blasted the Biden administration for participating in multiple closed-door meetings between top officials and the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI), a group pushing for natural gas stove bans.
Both House and Senate Republicans said the meetings, which were first reported by Fox News Digital, suggested the administration was working closely with organizations intent on hurting the U.S. energy sector. They also expressed concern in light of RMI’s close ties to the Chinese government.
“RMI’s access to the Biden Administration and connections to China are troubling,” Rep. Bill Huizenga, R-Mich., tweeted Saturday. “Their globalist agenda raises costs on individuals, families, and [small businesses] across [the U.S.] while empowering competitors like [China]. This isn’t random.”
He added that the meetings showed the importance of the Stop Trying to Obsessively Vilify Energy Act which he introduced alongside Rep. Alex Mooney, R-W.Va., in January. The legislation would prohibit federal agencies from banning gas stoves or other gas-powered appliances.
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Ali Zaidi, White House national climate adviser, attends a news conference on Dec. 16, 2021. (Al Drago/Bloomberg)
Huizenga’s comments came after Fox News Digital reported that White House climate czar Ali Zaidi met privately with three top RMI officials in March 2022 and that Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm met with former RMI CEO Jules Kortenhorst a year earlier.
RMI is a Colorado-based nonprofit that works to accelerate the global green energy transition, particularly through economy-wide electrification. The group made headlines in early January after it funded a study showing gas stoves posed public health risks which was cited by proponents of banning such appliances.
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“The Biden administration & liberal dark money groups are working hand in glove to destroy the American energy sector,” Rep. Gary Palmer, R-Ala., added. “They want to ban your gas stove, drive up your energy costs, & make you dependent on unreliable energy sources. Republicans in Congress will not let this happen.”
In addition to its push for electrification of home appliances, RMI has been criticized for its close ties to Chinese entities.
The group previously collaborated with the Chinese state agency National Development and Reform Commission to study net-zero pathways for the nation and is a member of the China Clean Transportation Partnership, a green group with significant ties to the Chinese government. And RMI board member Wei Ding previously chaired the China International Capital Corporation, a bank partially owned by the Chinese government.
Rep. Bill Huizenga, R-Mich., said the Biden administration’s “globalist agenda” raises costs on Americans and U.S. small businesses while empowering Chinese competitors. (AP)
“Now Biden’s people are using China-backed talking points to take away gas stoves – insane,” Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., tweeted.
Rep. Wesley Hunt, R-Texas added that “China’s fingerprints seem to be on everything, including our energy policy.”
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“HOLY MOLY! New Energy Department documents show that Jennifer Granholm met with a CCP-connected group to strategize about BANNING gas stoves,” Rep. Ronny Jackson, R-Texas, said in a tweet of his own. “This is unimaginably UN-AMERICAN. This whole administration is 100% COMPROMISED by China! They’re OWNED by Beijing!!”
In addition, Rep. Tim Walberg, R-Mich., hinted that House Republicans may further investigate the administration’s collaboration with RMI.
“Very concerning the more we discover about the Rocky Mountain Institute and the study used to try to ban gas stoves,” he said. “As a member of the [House Energy and Commerce] Committee, I’ll be demanding more transparency regarding the situation and intentions.”
Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm has met privately with the Rocky Mountain Institute CEO. (Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images)
In January, shortly after the RMI-led study was published, a President Biden-appointed commissioner on the Consumer Product Safety Commission said a ban on gas stoves was on the table. However, after significant criticism from industry groups and GOP lawmakers, the White House said it wouldn’t support a gas stove ban and Granholm said a ban would be “ridiculous.”
The Biden administration also downplayed its meetings with RMI officials, saying gas stove bans weren’t discussed during the meetings.
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“This meeting was about adding to President Biden’s historic record of bringing more manufacturing jobs back to America and lowering energy costs, not a debunked conspiracy theory,” White House spokesperson Abdullah Hasan told Fox News Digital on Saturday.
“While the cynics try to serve up a story about Zaidi without sizzle or steak, he is working overtime to deliver substance — good jobs, cost savings, and a stronger American energy sector than ever before.”
The DOE said Granholm’s meeting with the former RMI CEO was about infrastructure.
