Biden taps John Podesta as his top climate envoy to replace John Kerry: Obama official embroiled in Hillary Clinton email saga gets post to push Joe’s ambitious green agenda
- Podesta advises Biden on the Inflation Reduction Act
- He was chairman of Hillary Clinton’s campaign in 2016 when his emails were hacked
- Also served under Bill Clinton and Barack Obama
John Podesta, the former White House chief of staff who advised Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and Joe Biden, is stepping into a new role as the president’s international climate adviser.
It’s just the latest assignment for the peripatetic consigliere, who had a key moment in American politics when his emails were hacked during the 2016 election and began appearing online with information about Hillary Clinton amid a separate hack on the Democratic National Committee.
Former Secretary of State John Kerry is filling the role of Biden’s climate envoy and keeping international negotiations top of mind in an effort to move the world toward green energy.
The failed 2004 presidential candidate announced this month he would switch to Biden’s campaign, where two top White House advisers have also switched amid polls showing a tight potential race with Donald Trump.
John Podesta, who helps oversee the Inflation Reduction Act,
Podesta would intervene if Kerry leaves in the coming weeks.
Podesta is considered a policy professional, who founded the Center for American Progress think tank after advising Democrats on politics and policy. He chaired Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign and was a senior adviser to Obama.
Former special counsel Robert Mueller’s team concluded that the Kremlin was behind the hack of his emails, which were posted to WikiLeaks in the heat of the campaign. Many of them led to damaging headlines during her tough race against Trump.
“Secretary Kerry has returned the US to climate leadership around the world,” Podesta said WashingtonPost. “And we will ensure that we maintain the momentum built by his efforts.”
In one wrinkle, a 2022 law requires Senate confirmation for envoys reporting to the State Department.
President Biden has made climate issues a key part of his administration agenda and plans to emphasize green issues in his re-election campaign
Podesta advised President Barack Obama and President Bill Clinton
Podesta was Bill Clinton’s chief of staff during his impeachment
The White House believes it has found a solution, appointing Podesta’s title as “senior adviser” to the president.
The law provides that “the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, may appoint any person as special envoy, special representative, special coordinator, special negotiator … or any other position performing a similar function, regardless the title , in the Department of State, which shall exercise substantial authority under the laws of the United States.”
It states that ‘a person may not be appointed as a special envoy, special representative, special coordinator… or any other position performing a similar function, regardless of his title, in the ministry exercising significant powers under the laws of the United States, without the advice and consent of the Senate.”