The Biden administration will not forget about fossil fuel industry workers as it transitions the U.S. to net-zero emissions by 2050, the president’s nominee to lead the Department of Energy, Jennifer Granholm, told the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on Wednesday.

Republicans on the committee — and incoming committee Chair Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) — sought assurance that Granholm would not seek to displace coal, oil and natural gas in the country’s energy mix. She did not shy away, pledging that the U.S. would continue to rely on fossil fuels even as it tries to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.

Instead of speaking about the urgency of the climate crisis, as some Democrats on the committee did, she focused her remarks on the department’s role in funding research and development of technologies, such as carbon capture and sequestration, and often emphasized the “net” in “net zero.”

Granholm, who served as governor of Michigan from 2003 to 2011, also asserted that the transition would result in higher overall employment. She cited her experience of leading the state during the Great Recession, when General Motors and Chrysler filed for bankruptcy.

“Having been the governor of Michigan when the automotive industry was on its knees, I understand what it’s like to look in the eyes of men and women who have lost jobs through no fault of their own,” she said.

That industry, like energy, she noted, has historically been dependent on fossil fuels. She admitted that she and other Michigan officials had fought against tougher Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards “because we wanted to protect our industry.”

But the auto industry has begun transitioning to manufacturing electric vehicles, Granholm said. She frequently expressed her love for her Chevrolet Bolt.

The energy transition also offers an opportunity for the U.S. to import less, she said. In fossil fuel states, “there is an opportunity for us to specialize in the technologies that reduce carbon emissions; to make those technologies here; to put people to work here,” she told Manchin.

“We better believe that China is in this, and they are aggressively competing,” she said later. “States individually are bringing a knife to a gunfight, and without a federal partner to make sure we can get these jobs in America, then we will be losing globally.”

Granholm’s comments on protecting U.S. jobs echoed those of Biden when he issued several executive orders the same day. (See related story, Biden Signs Sweeping Climate Orders.)

‘A Hell of a Lot More Jobs’

Republicans on the committee, led by incoming ranking member John Barrasso (Wyo.), asked Granholm about Biden’s executive orders, such as a moratorium on new oil and gas drilling leases on federal lands and blocking the Keystone XL oil pipeline. (See Biden Begins Undoing Trump’s Legacy.) Republicans said these orders would cost thousands of jobs.

“We don’t want to see any jobs sacrificed,” Granholm told Barrasso. “This is why reducing GHG emissions is so important in the fossil fuel arena. The moratorium on public lands, I know, for those states that have those jobs in abundance, is something we’re going to have to work on together to ensure people remain employed.”

She noted that current leases to drill would not be affected by the moratorium. “So it gives us some time to be able to work on creating jobs. … [Biden] has put together a sort of SWAT team inside the federal government to focus on communities that have powered America.”

Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) was skeptical.

“I think there is a question before the American people: Does the Biden administration actually care about their jobs?” he asked. “You had mentioned that the Biden team will have … a SWAT team to make sure that folks are employed. I’m thinking they have a SWAT team to take out their jobs.”

Cassidy noted that during his confirmation hearing, Pete Buttigieg, Biden’s nominee for transportation secretary, admitted that it would take years for clean energy jobs to become widely available. (Later that day, the Senate Commerce Committee advanced Buttigieg’s nomination to the floor, 21-3.)

“I totally get the concerns about jobs losses. Totally,” Granholm responded. She began to say that Biden had committed to create millions of jobs as part of his climate policies, but Cassidy cut her off.

“How quickly though? … If you’ve lost a job that is putting food on your table now, it’s cold comfort to know that years from now, perhaps in a different state, with a different training [that] you have, there will be another job available,” Cassidy said.

“I completely understand what you are saying,” she replied. “What I can tell you is … when we focused on incentives for job providers to locate in Michigan in clean energy, they came.” She noted that the department has unused funds for tax credits under Section 48c of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act for clean energy manufacturing.

Sens. Bernie Sanders (Vt.) and Angus King (Maine), independent senators who caucus with Democrats, backed up Granholm on her focus on jobs.

“While there will be clearly, as we make the transformation, loss of some jobs, no question about it … 10 million jobs is a hell of a lot more jobs being created than being lost,” said Sanders, referring to one of Biden’s goals.

“The changes in employment patterns occasioned by the movement to a carbon-free economy are obvious, and they’re occurring,” King said. “What’s hard to calculate is the drastic changes to our economy if we don’t make this transition and the impacts all over the country in agriculture, in industry, in fisheries, in all of our coastal resources. … There’s an enormous cost on the other side that has to be part of this equation.”