The Department of Justice is investigating the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, a $27 billion initiative established under President Joe Biden’s $740 billion Inflation Reduction Act. Launched in the spring of 2023 and managed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the program was designed to tackle the climate crisis and support historically underserved communities. However, concerns are now growing that much of the fund has failed to achieve its intended goals, and instead, large sums have benefited environmental nonprofits tied to political figures.
“The Biden administration exploited the concept of ‘climate equity’ to funnel billions of taxpayer dollars to their political allies,” said Lee Zeldin, newly appointed EPA administrator under the Trump administration. “My priority is to investigate every dollar spent in this scheme and ensure proper oversight and accountability. This operation, marked by conflicts of interest, reeks of corruption.”
According to an investigation by The Free Press, a significant portion of the fund—$20 billion—was disbursed to eight nonprofit organizations in a rushed fashion, primarily after Vice President Kamala Harris’s election loss, but before President Donald Trump assumed office. As one former EPA official described the situation, it resembled “tossing gold bars off the Titanic.”
These eight organizations received grants ranging from $400 million to $6.9 billion, and many were founded shortly before the application period opened in July 2023, when it became clear that large-scale funding opportunities were available. Board members and staff of these groups include prominent Democratic donors and political figures from the Obama and Biden administrations, such as Stacey Abrams, who served as senior counsel for one of the recipients, Rewiring America, slated to receive $489 million.
“These are among the largest grants ever awarded to nonprofit groups in American history,” said Judge Glock, a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute and author on federal bailouts. “This program is unprecedented in terms of government lending history, especially given its lack of oversight.”
The Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, designed to provide grants and loans to support clean technology and climate-related initiatives, allows recipients to direct the funds to smaller nonprofit organizations. However, there is no established oversight for these loans, raising concerns about improper distribution and potential misuse of taxpayer money.
“This was clearly intended as a slush fund,” Glock added. “The objective was to give money with minimal conditions and let favored groups lend it to others. It’s a wild program with little accountability.”
Zeldin is pushing for an investigation into the fund’s disbursements, particularly targeting the $20 billion currently held in 129 accounts at Citibank. An EPA source revealed that while $3.1 billion was withdrawn before the freeze, $16.9 billion remains untouched. However, attempts to recover the funds may be complicated by contractual clauses that could release the money if the Trump administration seeks to reclaim it.
The mainstream media has characterized the investigation as an attempt to obstruct valuable climate change efforts, citing the Trump administration’s actions as unlawful. This includes the resignation of Denise Cheung, a prosecutor from the U.S. Attorney’s office in Washington, D.C., who refused to take action on freezing the Citibank accounts, claiming insufficient evidence.
Yet, closer scrutiny of the nonprofit organizations receiving the bulk of the fund raises serious questions about the integrity of the disbursements. At a recent House Energy and Commerce Committee hearing, Chairman Brett Guthrie voiced concerns about the potential political motivations behind the funding decisions, suggesting that the grants may have been awarded to groups based on their political connections rather than merit.
Nicole Murley, the EPA’s acting inspector general, testified that her office had concerns regarding the lack of adequate controls to vet funding recipients and monitor how the funds were being used. These organizations, many of which have strong ties to the Democratic Party, have primarily focused on climate-related initiatives because of the funding opportunities created by the Biden administration.
For instance, the largest recipient, Climate United, was allocated $6.9 billion. Formed in June 2023, it is a coalition of three nonprofits, including Community Preservation Corporation, which received $2.4 billion for carbon-reducing improvements in multifamily housing. The organization’s CEO, Rafael Cestero, has close ties to former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and the Obama administration. Board members also include Dolores Huerta, a well-known Democratic activist, and Mindy Lubber, a former adviser to Biden’ s infrastructure bill.
Similarly, the Coalition for Green Capital, which received $5 billion, includes figures like Richard Kauffman, a former senior adviser in the Obama administration, and Nadia El Mallakh, a former Biden administration official. Other recipients, such as Power Forward Communities and Rewiring America, are led by high-profile Democrats and have raised concerns about the potential for political influence in the allocation of the funds.
Despite the large sums of money disbursed, many of these organizations have limited experience in climate-related work. For example, Rewiring America, which focuses on replacing fossil fuel-powered appliances with electric ones, was only established in August 2023 and has already received nearly $490 million in grants.
As the investigation continues, critics argue that the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund has become a tool for political favoritism and misuse of public funds. The ongoing probe by the Department of Justice may soon shed light on whether these concerns are justified or whether the program will be subject to greater scrutiny moving forward.
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