Raimondo Confirmed as Commerce Secretary

Ms. Raimondo resigned as governor within hours of her confirmation vote, paving the way for Lt. Gov. Dan McKee to succeed her in the state’s highest office.

Some Republicans who opposed her nomination expressed concern that Ms. Raimondo hasn’t sounded sufficiently tough on China trade and tech issues. They promised to keep up the pressure as the new commerce secretary prepares to set a new course on those issues following a Biden administration review.

Ms. Raimondo stirred controversy when she stopped short at her January confirmation hearing of promising she would maintain a Trump administration blacklisting of Huawei Technologies Co., a big maker of network equipment. The Trump administration said it was a security threat.

“There’s been a rush to embrace the worst elements of the Chinese Communist Party in the Biden administration, and that includes Gov. Raimondo,” said Sen. Ted Cruz (R., Texas), who sought unsuccessfully to block Ms. Raimondo’s nomination in recent days, citing her position on Huawei and other issues.

A key Democratic senator who spoke in support of Gov. Raimondo focused on her business experience and willingness to cultivate opportunities, including overseas.

“Frankly I think she’s a departure from the last president and the last commerce secretary,” said Sen. Maria Cantwell (D., Wash.), chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee. “I think he and the president spent a lot more time shaking their fists at the world community than engaging them on policies that were really going to open up markets and help us move forward with getting our products in the door…. I know she’s the right choice.”

At her confirmation hearing, Ms. Raimondo pledged a tough line against Chinese trade and technology threats. “We can’t have the Chinese, or really anyone, having a back door into our network and compromising in any way our national or economic security,” she said.

Referring specifically to Huawei, Ms. Raimondo said she would “use the full tool kit at my disposal…to protect Americans and our network from Chinese interference or any kind of back-door influence into our network.”

But in response to questioning from Mr. Cruz, Ms. Raimondo stopped short of endorsing specific actions taken against Chinese tech companies by the former administration. She declined to promise to maintain the Commerce Department’s blacklisting of Huawei, pending the Biden administration’s review.

Former President Donald Trump issued orders to blacklist Huawei—cutting it off from American suppliers and banning it from doing business in the U.S.

Huawei has repeatedly denied the allegations that it was a security threat. Representatives of the company didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday.

Ms. Raimondo’s comments reflected the Biden administration’s more measured approach to addressing Chinese technology threats, after several years of aggressive attacks by Mr. Trump.

The Biden administration is conducting a wide-ranging review of Trump initiatives against Chinese tech companies on national security and competitiveness grounds. That has led it to put a hold on efforts to force the sale to U.S. investors of TikTok, the Chinese short-video platform.

However, it has decided to allow a sweeping Trump-era rule aimed at giving the Commerce Department more tools to combat Chinese tech threats to take effect later this month.

Senators also voted 95-4 to confirm Cecilia Rouse as chairwoman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers. Ms. Rouse, an economist who most recently headed Princeton University’s School of Public and International Affairs, has spent much of her career researching labor markets, education and discrimination.

Write to John D. McKinnon at [email protected]