House Republicans are threatening to subpoena five White House aides in their investigation of Solyndra LLC, the failed solar panel maker that received more than $500 million in federal loan guarantees.
House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton of Michigan and Rep. Cliff Stearns, the Florida lawmaker who has led the probe, said on Wedneday that the committee would vote on Friday to subpoena the staffers unless the White House makes them available to testify.
They are Kevin Carroll, Kelly Colyar, and Fouad Saad of the Office of Management and Budget; Heather Zichal, a top White House energy official; and Aditya Kumar, who worked for former White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel and now works for Vice President Joe Biden.
The White House had no immediate comment.
The committee has previously issued subpoenas for White House documents related to the Energy Department's $535 million loan guarantee to Solyndra, which filed for bankruptcy last year and was raided by the FBI.
The California company's failure has been an embarrassment for the White House after President Barack Obama visited the company in 2010. His administration has promoted clean energy as one way to create jobs.
Republicans have used the loan guarantee to criticize Obama leading up to the 2012 presidential elections.
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