Energy Sec. Granholm backs Democrats' plan make all US military vehicles electric powered by 2030

Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm has put her stamp of approval on the Biden administration's effort to make all U.S. military vehicles electric powered by 2030. 

"I do, and I think we can get there," Granholm said in response to a question Wednesday about the matter by Iowa GOP Sen. Joni Ernst during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing.

Amid concerns about moving the U.S. away from fossil fuel and as a result having to rely on foreign resources, Granholm said "energy security" is achieved only when the country has "homegrown clean energy that is abundant."

Ernst criticized such efforts by Democrats, arguing they are "putting the climate crusade ahead of our [Defense] Department's lethality."

"We need to focus on that first," she said and argued such a transition will cost billions of dollars for an "unreliable product" while the U.S. is financially "constrained."

Maine Sen. Angus King last summer introduced the "Military Vehicle Fleet Electrification Act," which would require at least three-quarters of all non-tactical military vehicles that are leased or purchased to be fully electric or emit zero carbon. 

King, and independent who caucuses with Democrat, argued in announcing the measure the Defense Department "has a responsibility" to defend the country against climate change, which he said was "among the greatest national security threats facing America."

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