House Republicans Tie Biden Commerce Pick to Huawei Stance
- GOP House members ask Senate colleagues to delay Raimondo vote
- Biden nominee didn’t commit to keeping Huawei on Entity List
Gina Raimondo
Photographer: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
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.