House Republicans Tie Biden Commerce Pick to Huawei Stance
Updated on February 3, 2021, 3:31 AM EST
Several House Republicans are asking their Senate counterparts to delay the confirmation of Gina Raimondo for Commerce secretary until President Joe Biden clarifies whether he supports keeping Huawei Technologies Co. on a restricted trade list.
Led by Texas Representative Michael McCaul, the top Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, the group released a statement Tuesday highlighting the threat they say the Chinese technology company poses to national security. McCaul said while he agrees that the president should be able to pick his own cabinet, and the confirmation process is up to the Senate, removing Huawei from the Commerce Department’s “Entity List” is an issue that the nominee should clarify before moving ahead.
“The fact that the Biden Administration has still refused to commit to keeping Huawei on the Department of Commerce’s Entity List is incredibly alarming and dangerous,” the House Republicans said in the statement. “We urge those Senators who have a history of calling for Huawei to remain on the Entity List to stick to their principles and place a hold on Ms. Raimondo’s confirmation until the Biden Administration clarifies their intentions for Huawei and on export control policies for a country that is carrying out genocide and threatening our national security.” …
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-02-02/house-republicans-tie-biden-commerce-nominee-to-huawei-stance