President-elect Joe Biden will reportedly select a pro-Israel Democrat who has played a central role in combating her party's embrace of policies that undermine the historically close U.S.-Israel relationship for his Secretary of Energy.
Biden will tap former Michigan governor Jennifer Granholm to sit atop the country's nuclear stockpile as the Department of Energy's next leader, according to the Washington Post. As energy secretary, Granholm, a veteran of the Democratic political scene, will be responsible for America's nuclear stockpile, which is aging and needs to be modernized.
Granholm may also emerge as a central player in the Biden administration's diplomacy with Iran as it works to reenter former president Barack Obama's landmark nuclear deal with the country. Her appointment is likely to be well-received by pro-Israel Democrats who are counting on the Biden administration to maintain tight ties with the Jewish state. During the 2020 election cycle, Granholm worked with the Democratic Majority for Israel, an advocacy group created to counter the Democratic Party's most vocal critics of Israel, including Reps. Ilhan Omar (Minn.) and Rashida Tlaib (Mich.).
Granholm is also a supporter of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the nation's top pro-Israel group. AIPAC has emerged as a source of contention in the Democratic Party, which has grappled with calls for its leaders to boycott the group's annual pro-Israel confab in Washington, D.C. While Granholm's selection was immediately met with praise by Democratic leaders, her pro-Israel bona fides could irritate the party's left flank.