Jennifer Granholm: Education, Auto Industry, Political Career

Jennifer Granholm is the U.S. Secretary of Energy. Nominated by President-elect Joe Biden in December 2020, she was confirmed by the Senate on Feb. 25, 2021, and sworn in later the same day.

Granholm was the attorney general of Michigan from 1998 to 2002 and served two terms as the governor of Michigan from 2003 to 2011. She is the author of A Governor’s Story: The Fight for Jobs and America’s Future.

Early Life and Education

Granholm was born on Feb. 5, 1959, in Vancouver, British Columbia. She earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1984 and a Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School in 1987.

Granholm began her career as a judicial clerk for Michigan’s Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. In 1990 she became a federal prosecutor in Detroit. She was appointed Wayne County Corporation Counsel in 1994.

Leading Michigan

in 1998 Granholm became the first woman elected to serve as the attorney general of Michigan. She was elected as the first female governor of the state in 2003. Granholm served two terms as governor until 2011. She played a key role in guiding Michigan, which is heavily dependent on the automobile industry, through the Great Recession in 2008.

She is the founder of the American Jobs Project, a 24-state initiative that partnered with major universities and institutions to promote technological advancements and clean energy policies to stimulate job creation.

Auto Industry

In 2008, as the Great Recession began, layoffs at auto plants and auto parts suppliers were expected to reach 250,000 workers. As Michigan was heavily affected, General Motors and Chrysler were financially wounded and bankruptcy was a possibility for the corporations.

Working with the Obama administration, Governor Granholm helped to secure a 2009 bailout of the auto industry, which included investments in clean energy. A study conducted in November 2010 estimated that the auto rescue, by avoiding the worst-case scenario that would have included lengthy bankruptcy proceedings, saved an estimated 1.14 million U.S. jobs.

Following economic downturns caused by the Great Recession and meltdown in the automotive and manufacturing sectors, Granholm led efforts to diversify Michigan’s economy by strengthening its auto industry and adding emerging sectors such as clean energy. Today, one-third of all North American electric vehicle batteries are produced in Michigan, and the state is one of the top five states for clean energy patents.

Secretary of Energy

As head of the U.S. Department of Energy, Granholm oversees the country’s nuclear weapons program in collaboration with the Department of Defense. She promotes energy research, conservation initiatives, and energy policy, including the development of innovative energy technologies.

Granholm has the support of environmental groups and has been an advocate for clean energy policy throughout her career. She is a key figure in implementing President Biden’s climate policies and a clean energy economy.

In April 2021 Granholm commented that President Joe Biden “has a goal of getting to net zero carbon dioxide for this country by 2050. And that means that we have got to figure out ways to clean up our fossil fuel industry.”

The Bottom Line

Jennifer Granholm serves as the Secretary of Energy for the Biden Administration, where she directs energy policy, research, and new initiatives, including clean energy. Granholm previously served as the governor of Michigan.