Josh Hawley grills Biden energy secretary over stock ownership: 'You misled us'

WASHINGTON (TND) — Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., grilled Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm on Tuesday over what he says is her failure to report certain stock market transactions.

Granholm came under fire in 2022 for violating a law meant to prevent federal officials from using privileged information to trade in the stock market. Now, Sen. Hawley claims Granholm lied in 2023 about having purchased stock in individual companies, a violation of the STOCK Act, which combats insider trading.

During a Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing, Sen. Hawley grilled Granholm for telling the committee in 2023 she had not held such stocks despite later acknowledging she had done so.

"You neglected to report it to this committee for months afterwards," Sen. Hawley said. "Why did you mislead this committee?"

Oh, my goodness," Granholm replied. "I believed that I had sold all individual stocks, and I was incorrect. So, I came back as soon as I found out that, in fact, I had not sold all individual stocks."

After a tense back-and-forth exchange which involved multiple poster boards depicting the timeline of Granholm’s stock purchases, the senator decried Granholm’s “institutional corruption” and called for her to resign her position for misleading the American people.

Sen. Hawley also pressed Granholm to reveal the companies whose stock she sold after her inaccurate testimony to the committee in 2023. Granholm told the senator she sold "non-conflicting" stocks, but failed to specifically name the companies other than Ford, which Granholm says her husband held stock in since he was young.

“This is so—,” Granholm deflected in response to Sen. Hawley’s questioning. “Really? Really?”

It is outrageous that you misled us,” Sen. Hawley said. “It is outrageous that you are continuing to mislead us. This has got to change and frankly, you should go."

Granholm has been criticized over her trading habits in the past. In 2021, she sold $5 million worth of stock in electric bus maker Proterra after critics argued it was a conflict of interest. She had formerly served as a member of the company’s board.

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