Now Republicans target John Kerry and his alleged ties to China: GOP committee calls on Biden’s climate commissioner to end all negotiations with Beijing’s Communist Party
- Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., wrote to Kerry Thursday afternoon to say his climate talks with the CCP are now under scrutiny
- “To date you have not responded to any of our inquiries,” Comer wrote to Kerry
- The letter notes that in a May 2022 report, Kerry says he is in negotiations with the CCP to form a group to reduce greenhouse gas emissions
House Republicans are now targeting President Biden’s climate ambassador John Kerry’s negotiations with China.
Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., wrote to Kerry Thursday afternoon to say his climate talks with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) are now under scrutiny.
Comer said the committee asked for details of Kerry’s communications at the last convention but was met with silence and is now trying again with the weight of the majority behind it.
“To date you have not responded to any of our inquiries,” Comer wrote to Kerry. “Yet you continue to engage in activities that could undermine our economic health, circumvent the authority of Congress and threaten foreign policy under the guise of climate advocacy.”
House Republicans are now targeting President Biden’s climate ambassador John Kerry’s negotiations with China
The letter notes that in a May 2022 AP report, Kerry says he is in negotiations with the CCP to form a group to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Comer also said Kerry “continued to downplay the CCP’s human rights abuses and its antagonism towards the US, while promoting climate talks that the CCP doesn’t even seem interested in participating.”
“While the Department does not comment on requests from Congress, the Department is working to adequately accommodate such requests,” a State Department spokesman told of the probe.
“Separately, the Office of the President’s Special Envoy on Climate has and will engage members of Congress in international efforts to address the climate crisis.”
Biden made Kerry his special presidential envoy on climate shortly after taking office in 2021, a Cabinet-level position that did not require Senate approval. The role also gives Kerry a seat on the President’s National Security Council.
In April 2021, Kerry became the first senior Biden official to visit China.
With the new role, Kerry hired 45 employees reporting to the State Department with an estimated budget of $13.9 million.
The letter notes that in a May 2022 report, Kerry says he is in negotiations with the CCP to form a group to reduce greenhouse gas emissions
Kerry and his staff handle global climate issues, while another team — the Climate Policy Office, led by Ali Zaidi — handles national climate policy. Biden also relies on senior adviser on clean energy innovation and implementation, John Podesta, on climate matters.
Last week, speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Kerry said thawing tensions between the US and China could be key to preventing a climate emergency.
“We really hope to find the path to a breakthrough that could make a big difference,” said Kerry.
China ended cooperation with the US on drug trafficking and climate change last summer after then-spokeswoman Nancy Pelosi made a trip to Taiwan. Talks resumed after a meeting between Biden and President Xi Jinping late last year.
According to the World Bank, China is responsible for about a third of global greenhouse gases.