House Republicans’ search for a bad Biden climate investment could blow up in their faces — because it may be about to hit firms in their own districts, Axios‘ Jael Holzman reports.

Why it matters: Republicans are scouring for a Solyndra-level energy money mishap with a national security lens, seeking to expose risks from funding firms tied to China — but some of the firms on their potential target list are bringing jobs and money to red districts.

Driving the news: House Science, Space and Technology Chairman Frank Lucas sent a letter in December to the Energy Department asking why it’s funding Microvast — a Texas-based battery tech company with Chinese and U.S. operations now building a manufacturing plant in Tennessee.

  • Microvast’s plant is in Clarksville, Tenn., a city represented by Freedom Caucus member Mark Green, who celebrated the project’s announcement. 
  • DOE told Axios its funding decisions follow “a rigorous merit review process” intended to “position the nation to out-compete on the global stage.”
  • Microvast said in a statement that it’s “an American company” that is trying to combat the country’s “reliance on Chinese manufacturers.”
  • Green’s office declined to comment on Microvast, but said the congressman “has been deeply concerned by the Chinese Communist Party’s influence in American manufacturing companies.”

A more detailed version of this story appeared in a special pre-launch edition of Axios Pro Energy Policy this morning. For more scoops and sharp analysis like this, sign up to join the waitlist.

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