COOKING WITH GAS! Manchin Pulls Support for Biden Energy Nominee Over Stove Ban

West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin is pulling his support for Jeff Marootian, a Biden Energy Department nominee who would ultimately lead the crackdown on America’s kitchen appliances.

Including gas stoves.

The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, chaired by Manchin, canceled a vote on Marootian Wednesday morning; he was nominated to lead the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE).

“While I supported Mr. Marootian’s nomination in December, since then the office he’s been nominated to lead has proposed stove efficiency rules that I’ve raised concerns about,” Manchin told Fox News Digital in a statement.

“While I appreciate that these rules would only apply to new stoves, my view is that it’s part of a broader, administration-wide effort to eliminate fossil fuels,” the West Virginia lawmaker continued. “For that reason, I’m not comfortable moving forward with Mr. Marootian at this time.”

From Fox News:

Marootian was first nominated to take the helm at the EERE office in July 2022 after serving as special assistant to President Biden and, prior to that role, director of the Washington, D.C., Department of Transportation. The position has been vacant since Daniel Simmons, who led the office throughout the Trump administration, departed the DOE in early 2021.

DOE Secretary Jennifer Granholm then hired Marootian as her senior advisor for energy efficiency and renewable energy in September. His confirmation hearing before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee took place in November and he was reported out of committee in December, but his nomination stalled at the end of session, forcing Biden to renominate him in January.

Granholm said last year that Marootian would be a “natural fit to lead the Department’s largest applied energy office” and help the administration meet its “bold clean energy goals.” However, Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member John Barrasso, R-Wyo., opposed the nomination, saying Marootian was more qualified for a Transportation Department role.

More over at Fox News:

Joe Manchin abruptly tanks Biden nominee picked to oversee admin's crackdown on gas stoves https://t.co/1HKoUMcI1Z

— Fox News (@FoxNews) May 17, 2023

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