On Thursday, Vice President Kamala Harris got as close to the southern border as she is expected to get when she joined Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland, Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm, and National Climate Advisor Ali Zaidi at the groundbreaking of Ten West Link, a new 500kV high voltage transmission line that will connect Southern California and Central Arizona.
Harris was greeted by Governor Katie Hobbs on her arrival.
Today is a very exciting day for Arizona! Honored to welcome @VP, @SecGranholm and @SecDebHaaland to our state as we highlight ways Arizona is building a 21st century clean energy economy. pic.twitter.com/FXp1s6O9mb
— Governor Katie Hobbs (@GovernorHobbs) January 19, 2023
Harris, appointed the “border czar” by President Joe Biden, has ignored the situation heating up on the border as hundreds of thousands of aliens from across the globe enter the U.S. illegally, and instead is focusing on the green energy agenda of the Biden administration.
In an appearance on KFYI’s James T. Harris Show, Tom Homan, who served as Acting Director of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) did not parse his words when asked about the Vice-President’s decision to avoid the border.
Former Acting I.C.E. Director Thomas Homan discusses VP Kamala Harris visiting Arizona while not addressing the Bor https://t.co/S6HXQix8qK
— James T Harris (@JamesTHarris) January 20, 2023
The Department of the Interior approved construction of the line in July 2022, claiming it will lower consumers’ energy costs at a time Americans are paying more than ever before. The administration also claims that the line will “prevent power outages in the face of extreme weather, and create good-paying union jobs.”
The event was held at the construction site of the fifth transmission structure along what will ultimately be a 125-mile transmission line. At peak construction, Ten West Link expects just 365 union jobs on the line.
“The Ten West Link in Arizona demonstrates a very important point: when we invest in climate, we invest in families, in communities, in opportunity and prosperity for all people,” said Harris. “When we invest in climate, we build a safer, cleaner, healthier, more just, and more prosperous country. When we invest in climate, we invest in America.”
“The local IBEW workers putting steel in the ground for the Ten West project are delivering on President Biden’s vision for cleaner, more reliable, and more affordable energy for all Americans,” said National Climate Advisor Ali Zaidi. “The Biden-Harris administration will always be a partner to the workers that are building a clean energy economy that’s made in America.”