Sen. Joni Ernst told Newstimesuk.com during an exclusive interview that the Biden administration’s climate czar John Kerry ‘flying around the world’ is ‘a sign of total hypocrisy’.
Kerry, the US special envoy for climate change and former secretary of state, traveled to China this week to meet with the communist country’s top leadership on climate change.
Ernst, R-Iowa, said Kerry’s trip violates “all kinds of fossil fuels, fires and emissions” standards that he criticizes everyone else for.
‘So I think the climate czar needs to stay focused on his green energy policy at home.’
Former Secretary of State John Kerry steps off a government plane in 2013
‘So instead of demonizing fossil fuels, let’s focus more on pushing back against China,’ which is a huge threat to the United States, Ernst continued.
Kerry is the third top Biden administration official to visit China in recent weeks. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen also met with their counterparts.
He said during the trip this week that he was ‘working to change our relationship for the better.’
The top Biden official added that the administration is ‘very committed to stability in this relationship and to achieving joint efforts that can make a significant difference in the world.’
Kerry and top Chinese official Li Qiang discussed the challenges of global warming to both their countries.
Ernst’s comments come as House Republicans are demanding Kerry’s flight records to get a bottom-line number on how much taxpayers spent on his official jet flights to base the bill on.
GOP Reps. Mike Waltz, Corey Mills and Brian Mast questioned Blinken in a letter obtained by Newstimesuk.com on Tuesday.
“Chartered military aircraft (MILAIR) flights are much more expensive than commercial flights, and the use of such flights by past presidential cabinet officials has drawn intense scrutiny for misuse of taxpayer-appropriated funds,” the lawmakers wrote.
‘Did the State Department consider the carbon emissions of private jets when approving this trip, especially in light of John Kerry’s current executive order?’ they asked.
In a hearing before the House Foreign Affairs Oversight Subcommittee last week, Kerry defended himself by saying it was an ‘over-the-top lie’ that he ever used a private jet to conduct official visits.
Kerry, who denied ever flying in a private jet at the hearing and said he had flown in one ‘maybe once’, insisted he had never personally owned a private jet.
‘We don’t have a private jet. I do not own a private jet. I personally do not own a private jet.’
However, the Carey family had one private jet – a Gulfstream GIV-SP – which was sold in 2022.
John Kerry and Chinese Premier Li Qiang shake hands before a meeting at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China on July 18, 2023.
House GOP Whip Tom Emer told Newstimesuk.com on Monday that the China visits by Kerry, Yellen and Blinken were a sign of the administration’s weakness.
He added, ‘This is a stupid administration with inefficient policies.’
Rep. Mike Waltz, R-Fla., previously called the Biden administration’s plan to send top officials to China a ‘policy of desperation.’
He said Biden’s pattern of meeting with his opponents instead of imposing consequences for their hostile actions was damaging to the US on the world stage.
The Florida Republican added that the Biden administration’s solution is to ‘lecture’ on climate change and diversity, which is not conducive to national security.
‘I’m not buying their strategy,’ Waltz told Newstimesuk.com.
Ernst Biden has blasted the administration’s foreign policy prowess, saying the president is ‘failing’ to not focus on building a strong military, which is critically important.
He added that it was important to make sure the US was ‘supporting the Ukrainians’ amid the country’s war with Russia ‘as much as we can.’
‘We also need to turn to Taiwan and make sure we are strengthening Taiwan. So Taiwan can defend itself if there is any push from China.
He said he sees Biden’s announcement to send 3,000 troops to Eastern Europe to strengthen ‘our allies and partnerships in Europe’ amid the Russia-Ukraine war as a ‘typical training rotation’.
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