Democratic Rep. Elissa Slotkin of Michigan walked away as she was confronted with multiple questions Wednesday about a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) with a Chinese company linked to the country’s Communist Party.
Slotkin reportedly signed the NDA in order to participate in a closed-door meeting with executives with Gotion High-Tech, who were building a plant to produce batteries for electric vehicles, according to Fox News. Gotion employs over 900 members of the Chinese Communist Party, including its CEO, according to a 2022 ESG report.
Video posted on Twitter shows Slotkin going down a flight of stairs while a staffer attempts to obstruct the camera taking the video. She announced her bid to replace Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow in February after Stabenow announced her retirement.
In the news: Chinese EV Company, Gotion, Buys Up Michigan Land For Battery Factory Despite Public Backlash
“Why are you being funded by a lobbyist for a Chinese Communist Party-tied company?” the questioner said to Slotkin. “Will you register as a foreign agent like the lobbyist did? Why are you covering up dealings with the Chinese Communist Party? Do you think the deal with Chinese Communist Party is a national security threat?”
An attorney who works as a lobbyist for Gotion made political contributions to Slotkin and Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan, according to Fox News.
President Joe Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act, which spends $370 billion to combat climate change, into law in August 2022. The legislation is loaded with green energy provisions, including a $7,500 tax credit for electric vehicles and expanded the Environmental Protection Agency’s control over the energy industry in response to a Supreme Court ruling.
Despite Biden’s push for electric vehicles, the Biden administration blocked efforts to start mining for copper and nickel near the Boundary Waters Canoe Area in January, the Wall Street Journal reported. In addition, the Environmental Protection Agency made a determination Jan. 31 that would block the mining of 1.4 billion tons of copper, gold, molybdenum, silver and rhenium in Alaska in order to protect salmon.
Slotkin did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation.
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