The Biden administration’s rush to adopt electric vehicles may be endangering national security, high-ranking military officials warned.
EV projects have begun to be realized nationwide through funds from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act and private ventures. For instance, LG Electronics opened a new facility dedicated to manufacturing EV chargers in Fort Worth on Friday. Indeed, Michael Kosla, a senior VP of the company, noted in a statement that the day marked “a major step in LG’s roadmap to support the electrification of America,” as reported by The Dallas Express.
Just the day before, a letter signed by 17 former military officials led by retired U.S. Army Maj. Gen. James Marks warned President Joe Biden and Environmental Protection Agency administrator Michael Regan that rushing the adoption of EVs comes with negative national security implications, Fox News reported.
The letter expressed concern that the push for EVs relies on Chinese supply chains as the administration’s plan has outpaced the domestic manufacturing infrastructure required to produce such vehicles.
“There is no doubt EVs will play a significant role in diversifying America’s transportation systems. Yet we believe your plans will rush our transition to EVs before the infrastructure necessary to support it is in place,” the letter read, according to Fox News. “This trajectory will only position the U.S. to become more reliant on China for critical minerals and manufacturing that are necessary for the rapid expansion of EV markets this administration envisions.”
“And even more concerning is the fact that this reliance hinges upon China’s goodwill to export those minerals and manufactured goods to the U.S.,” the letter continued, per Fox News. “This will undoubtedly open the U.S. up to economic manipulations by China, identical to what Russia is doing with Ukrainian grain exports and a major threat to our national security. We do not believe now is the time for us to make ourselves vulnerable to such easy political pressures.”
The letter called the idea behind the policy “tone-deaf,” claiming it plays right into China’s geopolitical strengths.
China dominates the manufacturing of lithium-ion batteries and battery components used in EVs, as noted in the Fox News report. China also controls more than half of the mining and refining of the rare earth metals used in EV batteries.
Joining Marks in signing the letter were retired U.S. Navy Vice Adm. Robert Harward, retired U.S. Marine Corps Maj. Gen. Mastin Robeson, retired U.S. Navy Rear Adm. James Carey, retired U.S. Air Force Maj. Gen. Bentley Rayburn, and retired U.S. Air Force Lt. Gen. E.G. Shuler, alongside other retired colonels, captains, commanders, and majors, per Fox News.
The letter echoes the words expressed in September of 2023 by former President Donald Trump and Ohio Republican Senator J.D. Vance when they warned striking United Auto Workers (UAW) that Biden was selling them out with his EV push. Trump told the workers that Biden was driven by a desire “to appease the environmental extremists in his party,” as reported at the time by The Dallas Express.
Vance contended that the transition to EV was premature and would destroy the auto industry in the U.S., sending 10 times the factory jobs to China than it would create domestically, per DX.