Smell that: The rise of India’s ittar industry
Kannauj, India — Gopal Kumar pulled apart the bulb of a flower and pointed to where the roots of the petals had turned a little black inside. This is when the marigolds smell the best and are ready for picking, he said. He picked a pink rose next and sniffed. “You can only find this smell in Kannauj,” he said. Kumar has been growing flowers outside Kannauj – a sleepy town nestled on the fertile plains of the Ganges in northern India – for 50 years. His flowers are used in the making of ittars, natural perfumes produced by distilling flowers, herbs, plants or spices over a base oil, which takes on the scent of the raw material. Once a sophisticated kingdom in northern India, Kannauj is famed for its production of ittars using an ancient method called deg-bhakpa. This is a slow, laborious process of hydrodistillation devoid of all modern equipment that has survived in hundreds of small-scale distilleries across Kannauj and in surrounding cities. Despite a long heritage of fragrance and scent, economic liberalisation of the late 1980s led to a period of decline in India’s ittar industry as cheap, alcohol-based perfumes were introduced from the West. Until the 1990s, there were 700 distilleries in Kannauj, but their numbers dropped to 150 to 200 by the mid-2000s. Trying to compete on price, some manufacturers started using alcohol as the base rather than more expensive sandalwood oil, degrading the quality and purity of the products. Post-liberalisation, rather than selling directly to consumers, the vast majority of ittars and essential oils produced in India were exported to other businesses – either as an input into perfumery and cosmetic industries in the West or to the tobacco industry. Rosewater is an ingredient in chewing tobacco. But in the past few years, several young, predominantly female Indian entrepreneurs have spotted a gap in the market between these indigenous artisanal skills and India’s thriving consumer culture, and a new set of homegrown brands has emerged. A new wave of fragrance Boond Fragrances is one such company, established in May 2021 during the pandemic by a sister and brother, Krati and Varun Tandon, to help preserve and raise awareness of the perfume-making traditions of Kannuaj and to support local artisans. “Our father was a perfume trader and at-home perfumer,” Krati Tandon explained at her family home in Kannuaj. ”We grew up around perfumers and perfumeries in Kannauj, and you really absorb what’s happening. But we also saw over the years how some perfumeries started shutting down, and some are worried about their futures.” The duo wanted to make ittars accessible. “The idea was really for us to bring it to customers – people like us who, if we knew something like this existed, would appreciate it,” Krati said. Divrina Dhingra, author of The Perfume Project: Journeys Through Indian Fragrance, agrees. “Ittars have a marketing problem actually. In many ways they are stuck in the past,” she said. “But it is also an awareness problem. I don’t know if many people know this industry still exists, the way in which it exists, what it does, what is actually available.” Gopal Kumar grows flowers in Kannauj that are used to make ittars [Eileen McDougall/Al Jazeera] The initial response to Boond, Krati said, has been overwhelming with more than 10,000 orders dispatched in the 12 months up to October, a sizeable number for the young business. Sales rise in winter, the Indian wedding season and the time when Christmas orders come from abroad. The company said it expects sales to double in the next two years but declined to share its revenue numbers. “Recently, people have again started realising what synthetic perfume is and what real perfume is,” Krati said. “Particularly post-COVID, there has been a transformation back towards the real thing.” As per market research firm Technavio, the Indian perfumery industry will increase by about 15 percent compounded annually for the next five years. While market trends are currently dominated by trade between businesses, the number of Indian firms selling their own fragrances directly to consumers is increasing. Indian beauty writer Aparna Gupta said there’s been “a discernible shift, a renaissance if you will, in the domestic market’s attitude towards these traditional fragrances”, which are predominantly marketed on Instagram, and demand for them has gained “considerable momentum”. She credited brands like Boond that are concentrating on traditional, time-tested ittar scents for playing “a pivotal role” in this resurgence. “They are not just selling ittars; they are reintroducing a forgotten art form to a generation that is eager to reconnect with its heritage,” she said. Then there are other new brands like Kastoor and Naso Profumi that are targeting “younger consumers by blending traditional elements with modern nuances” – for instance, Kastoor’s Mahal with its unique blend of patchouli and lotus, Gupta said. A tradition of scent The flowers used used to make ittar are put in water and sealed inside a large copper vat called a deg [Eileen McDougall/Al Jazeera] It is unclear exactly how long ittars and essential oils – made when vapours of ingredients are extracted but no base oil is used – have been produced through hydrodistillation in India. However, recently distillation stills excavated from the cities of the Indus Valley indicate a culture of scent in some form dating back to about 3,000 BC. Around Kannuaj, many locals attribute the discovery of ittars to the Mughal queen Nur Jahan, who lived in the 16th and 17th centuries CE. However, Sanskrit texts indicate that the area was already a centre of fragrance before Mughal times. Historians believe the practice was invigorated with new ingredients and distillation methods further developed by the Mughal court. Production is highly seasonal, and February in Kannuaj is the season of Damask rose. The warming winter sun was high in the sky by the time a motorbike arrived at the distillery of Prem and Company, a jute sack tied to its rear. Dinesh, the distiller, immediately weighed, inspected and
PM Modi to inaugurate Varanasi’s 2nd Vande Bharat Express, Tamil Sangamam during 2-day visit
PM Narendra Modi is all set to embark on a two days trip to Surat, Gujarat and Varanasi. UP to flag off various development projects. Know details here.
Analysis: Why Israel will continue its deadly push into Gaza city centres
Dramatic news reports, claims and videos have emerged from both sides involved in the Gaza fighting throughout the past week. The week started with the Israeli army releasing several videos of Palestinians stripped to their underwear being marched through urban ruins. Israel’s PR machine disregarded the Palestinian outcry that followed. Israel staunchly asserted that the men were Hamas fighters and that their alleged mass surrenders signified that the end of the Palestinian group was close, even as many Palestinians and independent observers insisted that the men were civilians who had been treated against the laws of war by being publicly humiliated. For its part, Hamas stuck to its usual practice of pushing its cause through video releases – skilfully edited to enhance the desired effects – purporting to confirm its constant and numerous successes against Israeli invaders, mostly showing hits scored against armoured vehicles. Then came the news that stunned Israel and put a big question mark on its official line of Hamas being on the verge of collapse. First, nine soldiers were killed in a single operation in the Shujaiya neighbourhood of Gaza City on Tuesday. That shock was followed by another one on Friday, with the Israeli army admitting that it killed three Israeli captives, having mistaken them for enemies – even though they held white flags. So what is really happening on the ground in Gaza? Nothing we did not predict weeks ago: The war has entered a difficult, unpredictable and bloody phase of full-scale urban warfare where gains are small and slow, and losses can be huge. Combat in narrow and cramped streets of old cities is known to be one of the most difficult ways to fight a war. Classic military theory calls for defended cities to be surrounded and blockaded by units just strong enough to prevent the defenders from breaking out, while the main force continues advancing and taking territory. But the fight in Gaza is not about conquering fields and beaches – Israel’s proclaimed goal is to destroy Hamas. To do that, the first step is to control the ground where the enemy operates: the cities. Many aspects of warcraft are as ancient as the human urge to fight wars: attack and conquer versus defend and remain free. But the ways of achieving those goals have changed with technology and, at certain times, the means available to soldiers favour one aspect over another. In the old days, cities needed strong walls to defend themselves, but in the last 100 years, weapons have advanced at a rapid rate, causing a change in tactics. Successful resistance against enemy attacks no longer depends on huge, expensive static bastions. Nowadays, small but potent man-portable weapons whose destructive power is hugely disproportionate to their size, such as anti-tank rocket launchers, grenade throwers, small mortars, assault rifles and many others, allow the defenders to turn each house and every street into a formidable defensive position. From the 1940s to this day, almost all attempts to conquer cities held by determined defenders have ended in failure. The few victories attackers achieved were so costly that they often ended the offensive capabilities of those armies pushing into cities. In their own ways, Stalingrad, Warsaw, Berlin, Dien Bien Phu, Vukovar, Sarajevo, Grozny and Fallujah – some successfully defended, others eventually succumbing to attacks – all confirmed the military wisdom that urban warfare should be avoided whenever possible. Israel could not avoid urban warfare in Gaza. To have a chance of destroying Hamas, it has to deny it its operating ground, the three biggest urban agglomerations in the strip: Gaza City, Khan Younis and Rafah. In the first phase of its ground operation, the Israeli army advanced across open ground, through farmland and villages that do not lend themselves to mounting a major defence, only harassing attacks to slow down and dent the invaders. Hamas acted in classic guerrilla fashion, launching some hit-and-run attacks without wasting any effort to stop the Israelis then and there. The second phase started with Israeli forces reaching the suburbs, first of Gaza City and then, after the temporary ceasefire expired, of Khan Younis. Treading slowly and carefully in expectation of a concentrated Hamas response, the Israeli military completed the encirclement of those two urban areas. It would be naive to assume that Israel’s generals hoped that by isolating the two biggest built-up areas in the Gaza Strip, they would seriously impair the ability of the Qassam Brigades, Hamas’s armed wing, to fight back. In reality, the encirclement of the two city centres is not a classic one where troops within the blockade cannot be reinforced nor receive any supplies. Hamas still has an unknown but probably major part of its tunnel network intact and can move in and out. They have some difficulties in doing so but Hamas fighters are not locked in. Aware of the menace that tunnels present but also of the grave hazard of taking the fight into them, Israel has tried several approaches. It has destroyed as many tunnel entrances as it has found, mostly in the areas under its control, but many others that remain keep the danger acute. After several attempts to send troops underground that ended in disaster, with troops falling casualty to Hamas booby traps, the high command abandoned that approach. It then reportedly mulled the idea of filling tunnels with seawater, claiming that the test-flooding was successful but it has not yet decided to mount a full-scale deluge operation. This week’s Israeli actions on the ground strongly suggest that the Israeli army leadership realises that the only way towards achieving its proclaimed goal of annihilating Hamas is by taking, holding and controlling the ground throughout the currently surrounded centres of Gaza City and Khan Younis. That in itself would not guarantee victory but could create conditions to squeeze Hamas fighters into tunnels, after which Israeli forces could block and destroy all entrances. Flushing Hamas out would probably take weeks of heavy urban warfare with many more
Senate sex tape: Capitol Hill hearing room where leaked video was recorded home to several historic events
Several high-profile hearings have taken place in the Senate hearing room where an alleged congressional staffer reportedly filmed a sex tape. The U.S. Capitol Police told Fox News they were aware of an amateur pornographic video published by the Daily Caller on Friday, which shows someone identified as a congressional staffer, engaging in sex with another man in Hart Senate Office Building room 216. The Daily Caller report states the video was leaked after being “shared in a private group for gay men in politics.” The men’s identities haven’t been confirmed. Social media posts claimed the alleged staffer worked for Sen. Ben Cardin’s office. Hours after the story broke, Cardin’s office announced that a legislative aide had been dismissed but did not address reports linking a member of his staff to the sex tape. NSFW: CAPITOL HILL ROCKED BY SEX TAPE SCANDAL FEATURING FAMOUS SENATE HEARING ROOM “We will have no further comment on this personnel matter,” his office wrote in a statement. According to the Daily Caller, the explicit video was recorded in Hart 216. Here’s a look at some of the high-profile events that have taken place in that same hearing room: SENATE SEX TAPE: CONGRESSIONAL STAFFER ALLEGEDLY SEEN IN LEAKED VIDEO COULD FACE CHARGES, LEGAL EXPERT SAYS Now-Supreme Court Associate Justice Bret Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearings were held in Hart 216, which took place from September 4-7, 2018. Now-Supreme Court Associate Justice Samuel Alito’s confirmation hearings took place in Hart 216 from January 9-13, 2006. Now-Supreme Court Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor’s confirmation hearings were held from July 13-16, 2009 in Hart 216. Now-Supreme Court Associate Justice Amy Coney Barrett’s confirmation hearings took place in Hart 216 from Oct 12-15, 2020. Now-Chief Justice John Roberts’ confirmation hearings were held in Hart 216 from September 12-15, 2005. Now-Supreme Court Associate Justice Neil Gorsuch’s confirmation hearings were held from March 20-23, 2017 in Hart 216. Now-Supreme Court Associate Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson’s confirmation hearings were held in Hart 216 from March 21 to 24, 2022. Now-Supreme Court Associate Justice Elena Kagan’s confirmation hearings took place in Hart 216 from June 28-July 1, 2010. SENATE DEMOCRATS AT ODDS WITH SCHUMER OVER BORDER TALKS: ‘TERRIBLY MISTAKEN’ The National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, known as the 9/11 Commission, held several hearings in Hart 216. Former FBI Director James Comey appeared in a hearing inside Hart 216 on June 8, 2017, to discuss his interactions with former President Trump. Former Secretary of State John Kerry’s confirmation hearings were held in Hart 216 on January 24, 2013.
Confederate Memorial at Arlington National Cemetery to be removed despite GOP opposition
Despite efforts from a group of Republican lawmakers, a Confederate statue in the Arlington National Cemetery will be removed in the coming days. The Reconciliation Monument, known as the Confederate Statue, is part of the push to remove military installations named after the Confederacy in the wake of the summer 2020 Black Lives Matter protests. According to a press release from the national cemetery, the statue will be removed from the cemetery by Dec. 22. The move to remove the statue is in compliance with the Congressional mandate to remove all Confederate memorials by Jan. 1, 2024. GOP LAWMAKERS DEMAND PENTAGON STOP REMOVAL OF CONFEDERATE MEMORIAL IN ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY The Congressional mandate, passed in 2020, declared that the Department of Defense must remove all “names, symbols, displays, monuments, and paraphernalia that honor or commemorate the Confederate States of America” by Jan. 1, 2024. An Arlington National Cemetery spokesperson confirmed to Fox News Digital that safety fencing has been installed around the Confederate Memorial as preparation begins to deconstruct the memorial, which was erected in 1914. While the work occurs, the surrounding landscape, graves, and headstones will be protected, the cemetery said. The deconstruction of the memorial comes after a group of GOP lawmakers, led by Rep. Andrew Clyde, R-Ga., wrote a letter to Secretary Austin and demanded that they keep the Confederate Memorial in place until the end of the fiscal year 2024 appropriations process. US MILITARY CARRIES OUT AIRSTRIKES ON FACILITIES IN SYRIA OPERATED BY IRANIAN-BACKED FORCES In a letter to Secretary Austin, Clyde argued that the memorial was dedicated to American unity following the Civil War rather than honoring the Confederacy, and that it would desecrate the graves of Confederate troops buried there. “Despite bipartisan support for this monument, the Naming Commission, established by the Fiscal Year 2021 National Defense Authorization Act, clearly overstepped its legislative authority when it recommended that the Department of the Army remove the Reconciliation Monument from Arlington National Cemetery,” the lawmakers wrote. “[T]he Reconciliation Monument does not honor nor commemorate the Confederacy; the memorial commemorates reconciliation and national unity. Clyde, a Navy combat veteran, was joined on the letter by 43 other House Republicans. Gov. Glenn Youngkin said that he also disagrees with the Biden administration’s decision to remove the statue and the grave of Moses Ezekiel, the renowned sculptor of the memorial. “The governor formally asked Secretary Austin to ensure that the grave of Moses Ezekiel and the accompanying memorial atop his grave remain in its revered location at the Arlington National Cemetery,” Gov. Youngkin’s spokeswoman Macaulay Porter said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “The governor is disappointed that the Biden administration still sought to remove the memorial but believes that the Newmarket battlefield state park in the Shenandoah Valley will provide a fitting backdrop to Ezekiel’s legacy as a legendary sculptor and Virginian even though he disagrees with the Biden administration’s decision to remove it,” Porter said. Rep. Andrew Clyde did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment. Fox News’ Elizabeth Elkind contributed to this report.
PM Modi to inaugurate ‘Surat Diamond Bourse’ today: All you need to know about world’s biggest workspace
The SDB building, the world’s largest office complex with over 67 lakh square feet of floor area, is located at Khajod village near Surat city.
Al Jazeera to refer journalist Samer Abudaqa’s killing to ICC
The Al Jazeera Arabic cameraman was killed by a drone attack while reporting on the bombing of a school in southern Gaza Strip. The Al Jazeera Media Network says it will refer the killing of its cameraman Samer Abudaqa in Gaza to the International Criminal Court (ICC). In a statement on Saturday, the Qatar-based network said it has instructed its legal team to “urgently” refer the case of what it called “the assassination” of Al Jazeera Arabic cameraman Samer Abudaqa to the court in The Hague. Abudaqa was killed by a drone attack on Friday while reporting on an earlier bombing of a school used as a shelter for displaced people in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip. Samer Abudaqa [Screengrab/Al Jazeera] “Al Jazeera Media Network reiterates its denunciation and condemnation of the assassination crime of its colleague, Samer Abudaqa, who devoted 19 years with the Network to covering the ongoing conflict in the occupied Palestinian territories,” said the network’s statement. “In addition to the assassination of Abudaqa by the Israeli occupation forces in the Gaza Strip, the legal file will also encompass recurrent attacks on the Network’s crews working and operating in the occupied Palestinian territories and instances of incitement against them.” Targeting journalists is a war crime under Article 8 of the Rome Statute. The media network said it has set up a working group comprising its international legal team and international legal experts to submit a file to the court’s prosecutor. Al Jazeera Arabic correspondent Wael Dahdouh – who lost his wife, son, daughter and grandson in a previous Israeli bombing – was wounded in the same attack on Friday. He was hit by shrapnel on his upper arm and managed to reach the Nasser Hospital where he was treated for minor injuries. But rescue teams were unable to immediately reach Abudaqa and others at the site as they needed approval from Israeli forces to bulldoze through the debris to get to the location. By the time rescuers arrived five hours after the attack, Abudaqa had bled to death. The 45-year-old was laid to rest in southern Gaza on Saturday, with dozens of mourners, including journalists, paying their respects. “We are carrying this human message, we are carrying this noble message,” Dahdouh said in his eulogy as mourners around him wept. “We will continue to do our duty with professionalism and transparency.” Al Jazeera had previously submitted a formal request to the ICC to investigate and prosecute those responsible for shooting a veteran television reporter Shireen Abu Akleh in May 2022 while covering an Israeli military raid on the Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank. Evidence provided in the request, filed in December 2022, includes a comprehensive six-month investigation by the network, gathering witness accounts and video footage, among other material. The ICC has acknowledged its receipt, yet no further steps have been taken. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) says the ongoing conflict in Gaza is the deadliest for journalists ever recorded, with at least 64 reporters and media workers killed in 10 weeks of the enclave’s bombing. The CPJ has also called on the international authorities to “conduct an independent investigation into the attack to hold the perpetrators to account”. Adblock test (Why?)
Israel’s Netanyahu hints new deal under way to release Gaza hostages
The Israeli leader’s comments came after Qatar confirmed talks are on for a possible new truce. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has made comments, suggesting that new negotiations were under way to recover hostages held by Hamas. In a televised press conference on Saturday, Netanyahu called the conflict an “existential war” that must be fought until victory, despite pressure and costs, and said Gaza would be demilitarised and under Israeli security control. His statements came a day after Israeli forces mistakenly killed three of more than 100 captives. Netanyahu said Israel’s offensive in Gaza had helped clinch a partial hostage-release deal in November and promised to maintain intense military pressure on Hamas. “The instruction I am giving the negotiating team is predicated on this pressure, without which we have nothing,” he said. Netanyahu’s comments came after the chief of Mossad, the Israeli intelligence agency, met the prime minister of Qatar, a country mediating between Israel and Hamas, and whose efforts resulted in a seven-day truce and exchange of hostages last month. Earlier on Saturday, Qatar confirmed that talks were under way for a possible new truce. Netanyahu sidestepped a question about the meeting reportedly held in Europe, but confirmed he had given instructions to the negotiating team. “We have serious criticisms of Qatar … but right now we are trying to complete the recovery of our hostages,” he said. A Hamas statement later said the group “affirms its position not to open any negotiations to exchange prisoners unless the aggression against our people stops once and for all”. “The movement communicated this position to all mediators,” it added. On Friday, Israeli forces admitted to mistakenly killing three Hamas-held hostages, all in their 20s, in the Shijaiyah area of Gaza City, where the troops are engaged in fierce fighting with Hamas. Israel continues to pound Gaza, killing nearly 19,000 Palestinians since October 7. Thousands more are feared buried under rubble. Israel says at least 1,147 people were killed in the Hamas attack on its soil two months ago. The 10-week war has flattened much of northern Gaza and displaced 85 percent of the territory’s population of 2.3 million from their homes. Adblock test (Why?)
At least 61 asylum seekers drown after shipwreck off Libya: IOM
DEVELOPING STORYDEVELOPING STORY, International Organization for Migration’s Libya office quotes survivors as saying the boat was carrying about 86 people. At least 61 refugees and migrants, including women and children, have drowned following a “tragic” shipwreck off Libya, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) says. The organisation’s Libya office early on Sunday quoted survivors as saying the boat was carrying around 86 people. A “large number of migrants” are believed to have died because of high waves which swamped their vessel after it left from Zuwara, on Libya’s northwest coast, the IOM’s Libya office said in a statement. Libya and Tunisia are principal departure points for migrants risking dangerous sea voyages in hopes of reaching Europe, via Italy. In the latest incident, most of the victims – who included women and children – were from Nigeria, Gambia and other African countries, the IOM office said, adding that nearly 25 people were rescued and transferred to a Libyan detention centre. An IOM team “provided medical support” and the survivors are all in good condition, the organisation said. Flavio Di Giacomo, an IOM spokesperson, wrote on X, formerly Twitter, that more than 2,250 people died this year on the central Mediterranean migrant route, a “dramatic figure which demonstrates that unfortunately not enough is being done to save lives at sea”. On June 14 this year, the Adriana, a fishing boat loaded with 750 people en route from Libya to Italy, went down in international waters off southwest Greece. According to survivors, the ship was carrying mainly Syrians, Pakistanis and Egyptians. Only 104 survived and 82 bodies were recovered. More than 153,000 migrants arrived in Italy this year from Tunisia and Libya, according to the United Nations refugee agency. Adblock test (Why?)
Official leading Biden’s EV push steps down in surprise move after heavy GOP opposition
A top federal official who helped craft regulations aimed at pushing future electric vehicle (EV) use is departing the Biden administration in an unexpected move, according to an internal agency memo obtained by Fox News Digital. Ann Carlson — who is currently the acting administrator for the Department of Tranportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — will step down from her role on Dec. 26, 2023, and depart the agency entirely at the end of January. Patrick Lally, who heads NHTSA’s governmental affairs office, made the announcement in a memo circulated among agency staff late Friday. “Ann has been a tremendous leader — her time as Acting Administrator of NHTSA was time limited under the Vacancies Reform Act,” a DOT spokesperson told Fox News Digital in a statement. “She is returning to her previous role of senior advisor and Chief Counsel for one month to assist with the transition.” “Under her leadership, NHTSA strengthened child seat standards, moved to require Automated Emergency Braking in light and heavy vehicles, oversaw major recalls, held registered importers and those who commit odometer fraud accountable for their bad acts, and after horrific increases in previous years, for six straight quarters roadway fatalities have declined,” the statement continued. BIDEN OFFICIAL DOGGED BY ETHICS PROBE FACES KEY SENATE VOTE OVER TAXPAYER-FUNDED SALARY: ‘SERIOUS SCANDAL’ Carlson, though, had garnered strong opposition from Republicans over her past climate activism, support for regulations targeting gas-powered vehicles and how she continued to lead NHTSA in an acting role even after failing Senate confirmation for the post in a permanent capacity. In January 2021, the Biden-Harris transition team hired Carlson, then an environmental law professor at UCLA, to serve as NHTSA’s chief counsel. While the position didn’t require Senate confirmation, Carlson oversaw key agency initiatives in that role and began serving as acting administrator in September 2022. TOP REPUBLICANS LAUNCH PROBE INTO LEONARDO DICAPRIO-FUNDED BLUE STATE LAWSUITS AGAINST BIG OIL Then in February 2023, Biden nominated Carlson to permanently lead NHTSA. In the months that followed, she faced heavy opposition from Senate Commerce Committee Republicans for her past work in the private sector advising plaintiffs on climate litigation and comments she made via email about her role with the Biden administration. Her nomination was then suddenly withdrawn in May, but she remained acting administrator, sparking fury from Republicans and energy advocates. And after her nomination was withdrawn, Carlson crafted new fuel economy regulations designed to incentivize greater EV purchases. “As Senate Republicans pointed out repeatedly, Ann Carlson was serving as acting administrator contrary to the law,” Commerce Committee Ranking Member Ted Cruz, R-Texas, told Fox News Digital. “Her attempts to hijack this safety agency by rewriting auto fuel economy standards into an unpopular de facto EV mandate should not stand as a result of her illegal appointment.” “I am hopeful President Biden will nominate someone with the requisite safety experience to lead NHTSA, not another radical, ‘Green New Deal’ activist,” he continued. In addition to leading opposition to Carlson’s nomination for NHTSA administrator, Cruz introduced a resolution alongside Sen. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., in September which would have effectively defunded Carlson. Cruz has argued that Carlson maintaining her position as acting administrator violated the Federal Vacancies Reform Act which prohibits “any person who has been nominated to fill any vacant office from performing that office’s duties in an acting capacity.” He noted the provision and the fact that Carlson did not serve in the position of first assistant to the previous NHTSA chief for more than 90 days before he resigned, precluded her from her current position. “President Biden’s illegal appointment of Ann Carlson, who was effectively rejected by the Senate due to concerns about her extreme agenda and radical record, will only yield more mandates, higher costs for families and a less vibrant economy,” Cruz said in September.