Joe Biden's Energy Secretary, Jennifer Granholm, was urged to resign during a Senate committee hearing Tuesday that touched on conflicts of interest in her work.

Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) accused Granholm of enabling "institutionalized corruption" by owning stock directly related to energy policy and allowing her employees to do the same.

Using a poster to accent the point, Hawley noted that Granholm waited months to clarify a misleading statement last April that she did not own stock.

The cross-examination appeared to catch Granholm off guard.

"I was incorrect"

"Oh my goodness," Granholm interjected. "Senator, I believed that I had sold all individual stocks. And I was incorrect."

Hawley sounded incredulous that Granholm seemed to know so little about her own investments.

"So you just don't know your own portfolio?" Hawley asked.

"Pretty much," she shot back.

Granholm said she was not aware until recently that her husband had stock in Ford since he "was very young." The car company received billions of dollars from the Biden administration to build electric car plants.

She said she sold other "non-conflicting" stock that she owned personally but could not recall the names of the companies. She denied that electric bus company Proterra was one of them.

Granholm had previously sold stock in the company, which has been promoted by President Biden as part of his climate agenda, at a $1.6 million profit.

Conflicts of interest

Granholm grew agitated as Hawley asked whether she is letting her department be run by "the mega-corporations whose stock that you own that you’re making profit in."

"Oh my goodness," Granholm protested. "This is unbelievable to me, senator. To be accused like this."

Hawley citied reports that hundreds of Energy Department employees own stock in companies related to their work, accusing Granholm of "institutionalized corruption."

"They do not own stocks in areas that they have any influence over, nor do I,” she fired back.

Hawley urged Granholm to step down over her "deplorable" record as his time for questioning ran out.

“It is outrageous that you’re going to conferences and events funded by foreign billionaires using dark money to try to influence our politics. This has got to change and frankly, you should go," he added.