POTENTIAL STUMBLING BLOCK

A group of House Republicans on Tuesday called on the Senate to block a vote on the nomination of Gina Raimondo, President Biden’s pick for Commerce secretary, until she clarifies her stance on Chinese telecom giant Huawei.

“We urge those Senators who have a history of calling for Huawei to remain on the Entity List to stick to their principles and place a hold on Ms. Raimondo’s confirmation until the Biden Administration clarifies their intentions for Huawei and on export control policies for a country that is carrying out genocide and threatening our national security,” the 20 Republicans, said in a joint statement.

Their concerns come a week after Raimondo vowed to examine policies around Huawei, but did not say specifically that she would keep it on the Commerce Department’s blacklist if confirmed. Several Republican senators have also expressed concerns around this.