Cox appointed to President Biden’s Council of Governors
Jul 8, 2021, 2:35 PM | Updated: 5:31 pm
SALT LAKE CITY — Utah Governor Spencer Cox was appointed to President Biden’s Council of Governors Thursday.
Cox was one of nine governors selected to the bipartisan group committed to strengthening ties between federal and state governments on matters of homeland security.
“The council is something that’s been around now for several years, both the Trump presidency and the Obama presidency had this council,” Cox said to Jeff Caplan’s Afternoon News on KSL NewsRadio. “The idea behind it is there are five Republican governors and five Democrat governors who work together to advice the administration on issues that impact national security, issues that impact our environment, extreme weather conditions, things like the drought, wildfires, those are all issues that we will be talking about with this council.”
The council serves an important role in getting help to where it is needed around the country.
“Governors are on the front line,” Cox said. “And they (the president’s administration) need to hear from the governors. We feel very fortunate that Utah has a seat at the table and the ability to influence these big national policy issues.”
Cox said this is one council where you can throw out all the politics.
“This is one area where presidents of both parties have felt that it is important to get good information, to take the politics out of it,” the Utah governor said. “That’s why there is Republican and Democrats together working on these issues.”
A member of the Biden cabinet had previously asked Cox if he would be willing to serve on the council. However, he did not receive word until Thursday that he had been appointed to it.
Other members of the President’s Council of Governors include Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, Co-Chair; Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Co-Chair; Delaware Gov. John Carney; Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards; Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer; Oregon Gov. Kate Brown; Utah Gov. Spencer Cox; Vermont Gov. Phil Scott; and Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon. The nine governors will join Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee on the council. Gov. Lee’s term expires in 2022.
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