A pair of congressional Republicans have accused the White House of attempting to circumvent federal law requiring a Senate confirmation vote for certain special envoys by relocating the office of a key climate post.
The White House confirmed in late January that Podesta would succeed John Kerry, who is leaving to join the Biden campaign. Kerry assumed the position in 2021 and was the inaugural officeholder. Notably, Kerry's office was part of the State Department, while Podesta's is a White House position.
"[A]ny objective observer would reasonably suspect that you crafted Mr. Podesta’s ‘new’ position to circumvent a recently enacted law so as to duck accountability to Congress and impede or subvert oversight efforts," Senate Environment and Public Works Committee ranking member Shelley Moore Capito and House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers wrote to the White House in a letter The Hill obtained.
Specifically, the pair pointed to National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal 2022 in asserting that Podesta's appointment would require Senate confirmation. The law requires that State Department special envoys receive approval from the upper chamber and the pair contend that moving Podesta's post to the White House while he maintains the same responsibilities appears to be a workaround to avoid a confirmation vote.
Podesta is a longtime Democratic strategist and has served as a Biden administration advisor on clean energy. He was notably chairman for Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign.