By Andrew Restuccia - 03/20/12 10:11 PM EDT
Shortly after the hearing, Issa suggested Chu was being hypocritical for riding in a gas-guzzling SUV after touting the administration’s plans to promote fuel-efficient vehicles.
“@Energy Secretary Chu: not practicing what he preaches leaving today’s #energy hearing #hypocrisy,” Issa wrote on Twitter, linking to a photograph of Chu getting into a black SUV outside the Rayburn House Office Building.
Chu has said that he does not own a car, but The Daily Caller reported last month that his wife owns a BMW.
Republicans alleged at Tuesday’s hearing that Chu mismanaged the loan program, and claimed that the administration approved loan guarantees to please Obama’s campaign donors.
The Energy secretary, a Nobel Prize-winning physicist, rejected the GOP’s allegations, insisting that the loan applications were reviewed on the merits.
A year-long House Energy and Commerce Committee investigation has uncovered no evidence that a $535 million loan guarantee to solar-panel manufacturer Solyndra — which later went bankrupt — was granted for political reasons. But it has uncovered documents that are embarrassing and politically damaging for the White House, including that officials raised questions about the wisdom of granting the loan guarantee.
