She's not even trying to hide it.
Joe Biden's longtime Department of Energy Secretary, Jennifer Granholm, has found a lucrative living on the boards of Edison International and Southern California Edison -- right after she shoveled $600 million cash out the door to those entities for greenie spending projects at the end of Joe Biden's term.
Seems they kept a seat warm for her and now she's in it.
According to Fox Business host Elizabeth MacDonald:
The turnstile you paid for in Biden’s massive climate spending that’s funded Democrat NGOs, nonprofits, likely Dem campaigns - and future employers. Biden’s Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm joined the boards of Edison International and Southern California Edison. SCE was part… pic.twitter.com/Jt9OMLdw0b
— Elizabeth MacDonald (@LizMacDonaldFOX) February 22, 2025
According to Business Wire, an outlet that runs press releases:
ROSEMEAD, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Edison International (NYSE: EIX) and Southern California Edison today announced that Jennifer Granholm will join the board of directors of each company, effective April 1.
Granholm brings extensive experience advancing reliable, resilient, clean energy solutions and deploying zero-carbon technologies from her recent service as U.S. secretary of energy and prior experience as governor of Michigan.
She brings a strong background in cybersecurity and protection of the power grid and electric utilities. Under her leadership, the Department of Energy (DOE) invested heavily in cybersecurity tools and technologies to strengthen the resilience of U.S. energy infrastructure. She has also worked to find a solution for spent nuclear fuel, which could help spur industry growth. During Granholm’s term as DOE secretary, almost 1,000 factories announced they were coming to or expanding in America to make clean energy products, and the DOE invested more than $200 billion in thousands of clean energy projects, creating more than 400,000 U.S. jobs.
“Jennifer’s experience as a leader familiar with cybersecurity, physical security and clean energy resources ― and known for working in partnership with utilities and other industries ― will allow her to make important contributions to Edison International, including SCE and Trio,” said Peter J. Taylor, Edison International board chair.
“Jennifer has an excellent background in energy technology, energy policy, safety and sustainability,” said Pedro J. Pizarro, president and CEO of Edison International. “We’re thrilled she is joining our boards, and we look forward to the guidance she will provide based on her understanding of the technical, political and economic forces shaping our industry today.”
Experience? That was exactly what they were saying was the problem with the former Michigan governor when she was appointed Joe Biden's Energy Department secretary.
According to Daniel Turner, writing at RealClearEnergy in 2021:
Two recent remarks make this clear. At the international climate change conference in Glasgow, she was asked about her plan to increase oil production. She laughed. Head thrown back in fits of laughter like a cartoon character. “Would that I had a magic wand…” she chuckled excusing her lack of vision and leadership. She claimed energy is a “global” problem controlled by forces greater than her. She’s merely a bystander.
How thoroughly un-American. Surely, we are back to the Jimmy Carter age of cowering before the OPEC cartel imploring them to increase production and ease our pain. Jennifer Granholm’s attitude says it’s not her problem to solve because it’s not her fault.
What is the point of government leaders?
When pushed on what can we do to increase supply and lower prices, her response pinned the tail on another donkey: oil companies.
“The oil and gas companies are not flipping the switch as much as the demand requires.” I wonder if this is a euphemism or a literal proclamation. I fear the latter. The Energy Secretary, a politician with zero energy experience, believes there is some on/off switch, or, like a faucet, a way to increase the output by turning a giant handle. Neither Granholm nor the TV host have a background in energy, so the discussion ended there. In total ignorance.
How'd the gas prices go on her watch?
She also hired this person for cleaning up nuclear waste, the most notable thing from her tenure, displaying her "good" judgment:
The destruction of Sam Brinton by the Tanzanian fashion designer whose bags he’d stolen and who brought the receipts was one of the great moments of (early) 2023. https://t.co/w7oDsfXL0y pic.twitter.com/CaRJ2VzBTf
— Santiago Pliego (@SantsPliego) February 9, 2025
And she somehow got rich from life in the swamp ahead of her tenure as Energy Secretary, clocking in her net work at $8 million as of 2021.
According to Forbes, in a wealth profile published in 2021:
In the meantime, her financial interests have already caused some headache. In April, President Joe Biden conducted a virtual tour of a Proterra factory in South Carolina, leading critics to question why, of all the electric vehicle companies in the country, Biden chose to visit one with financial ties to a cabinet secretary. Republican Senator John Barrasso of Wyoming asked the inspector general of the energy department to investigate Granholm’s “potential conflict of interest.” The DOE said that Granholm and the department were not involved in the decision to visit the facility.
Other optics issues may arise for Granholm. Her husband plans to maintain a consulting business while she serves, according to her ethics agreement. Past clients of his have included companies such as Google, Cisco and Facebook.
Now she's about to get richer, playing the swamp game of revolving doors without even trying to hide it. How much is she getting paid on those board seats and more to the point, did that have absolutely nothing to do with her kicking in $600 million to those corporate interests just before she left office, in that great pinata shake from the waning days of Joe Biden's regime. What was that telephone conversation like that made this scenario possible? Tell us all about how a deal was not cut.
She doesn't even try to hide the skeevy optics, let alone the awful disservice this does to Southern California, to have an ignoramus experienced only in building her fortune on their board. She doesn't even have much in the way of political clout to offer, though there may be ties she has to assorted cronies we don't see.
But she doesn't seem to care. After all, she got away with it as cabinet secretary, why would anyone stop her now? This sounds like a case for DOGE to look into.
Image: Center for American Progress, via Flickr // CC BY-ND 2.0 Deed