U.S. VP Harris takes Biden's jobs message to Marjorie Taylor Greene's district

Hanwha Solutions

06/04/2023 10:00

By Trevor Hunnicutt
       WASHINGTON, April 6 (Reuters) - U.S. Vice President
Kamala Harris on Thursday takes the Biden administration's jobs
agenda to a right-wing Georgia congressional district
represented by Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, an avid
supporter of former President Donald Trump.
    Harris, a Democrat, is headed to the small northwestern
Georgia town of Dalton to talk about the growing solar
manufacturing business as part of a nationwide tour by President
Joe Biden and his top aides to promote his economic agenda in 20
states over three weeks.
    In Dalton, South Korea's Hanwha Solutions Corp's  009830.KS 
Hanwha Q Cells unit has been expanding a solar manufacturing
operation first built during the Trump administration, spending
billions and adding hundreds of jobs in response to tax credits
included in Biden's Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and trade
policies that disadvantage imports from China.
    Harris is announcing a further expansion, including an 
order for 2.5 million new solar panels involving Summit Ridge
Energy, according to administration officials.
    Biden often describes his economic agenda as reversing the
trend of globalization that he and other Democrats once
celebrated, importing jobs and exporting products rather than
the other way around. He also wants a carbon-free electric grid
by 2035, with a sizeable chunk powered by solar panels.
    Dalton is less than a two hour drive outside of
Democrat-friendly Atlanta, which tipped Georgia to Democrats for
the first time in nearly three decades in 2020. But Dalton is
the seat of a county where Trump won 2.4 votes for every one for
Biden.
    Greene, the district's representative in the U.S. House, was
among those who joined hundreds in New York to protest outside
the courthouse where Trump was formally charged on allegations
by prosecutors that he orchestrated hush-money payments to two
women before the 2016 U.S. election to suppress publication of
their sexual encounters with him.
    Greene heckled Biden and called him a liar multiple times
during his February State of the Union speech before Congress.
Biden raises her name often now in political speeches and, in
February, made the sign of the cross when he did so.
    "The Biden-Harris administration's economic agenda and
legislative wins - including the Inflation Reduction Act - is
fostering innovation, investment and job creation in communities
like Dalton and across America," said Harris spokesperson
Kirsten Allen. "Instead, congressional Republicans want to roll
back this progress and put investments in manufacturing, clean
energy and good jobs at risk."
    Greene was notified that the event was taking place but is
not expected to participate, according to a White House
official. A spokesperson for Greene did not respond to requests
for comment.
    Dalton is the self-styled "carpet capital of the United
States" for its longtime manufacturing specialty. But the town
is also a picture of Georgia's changing demographics and
economy, having drawn a large Latino and immigrant population in
recent decades to work in its factories. With the solar factory,
the town is increasingly focused on advanced manufacturing, too.
    Georgia is expected to again be one of the most contested
states in the 2024 presidential election that may pit Biden
against Trump once again. A rising share of immigrants and more
highly educated white-collar workers have helped Democrats get a
foothold in a state whose working class white voters favor
Republicans.

 (Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt; editing by Grant McCool)
 ((trevor.hunnicutt@tr.com; +1 (332) 219 1571;
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