A conservative energy watchdog is pushing Congress to investigate tens of billions of dollars in Department of Energy grants rushed out in the final weeks of the Biden administration, warning that internal red flags were ignored and taxpayer money may have been wasted.
Power the Future founder Daniel Turner sent a letter Monday to Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., chair of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, and Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., chair of the House Oversight Committee. The letter calls for immediate congressional scrutiny of DOE grants and loan guarantees approved under former Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm.
“Former Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm authorized tens of billions of dollars in so-called ‘clean energy’ grants and loan guarantees, an amount that exceeds many years of prior Department activity,” Turner wrote. “These funds were rushed out the door, despite warnings from the DOE Inspector General that internal controls were insufficient and that the program should be paused pending further review.”
The DOE Inspector General had recommended halting a $400 billion green bank program over conflict of interest concerns. That recommendation was ignored.
Turner’s letter highlights one specific grant: roughly $710 million distributed as part of a 12-state affordable energy initiative just four days before President Donald Trump returned to the Oval Office on Jan. 20.
Part of that money went to New Jersey. Shortly after, Granholm accepted a senior role overseeing energy policy for New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill, who had appointed her in November 2025 to co-lead a team on “Making Energy More Affordable and Reliable.”
“This troubling sequence of events raises legitimate questions about whether federal resources were deployed with political or personal considerations in mind rather than objective public interest,” Turner wrote.
The push for oversight comes as Minnesota’s sprawling COVID-era fraud scandal continues to dominate headlines. Investigators say that scheme could exceed $1 billion and potentially reach $9 billion. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has announced cash rewards for whistleblowers and publicly blamed former Gov. Tim Walz for lax oversight.
Turner drew a direct line between the two situations.
“The large-scale fraud in Minnesota, where federal funds intended for public benefit were systematically abused despite warning signs, underscore the risks of allowing massive sums of taxpayer money to move with limited scrutiny,” Turner wrote. “Just as lawmakers are calling for congressional investigations into Minnesota, Congress should call into question the Biden Department of Energy’s late-stage grantmaking in a similar fashion.”
Power the Future asked Congress to conduct a full accounting of all DOE grants approved during Biden’s final six months, review Inspector General findings that were overridden, and examine ties between grant recipients and senior DOE officials.
Turner also pointed to former Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams securing $2 billion in grants as evidence that the program lacked proper guardrails.
The Biden DOE had dismissed the Inspector General’s 2024 report, calling it based on “mistaken facts and misunderstanding of the law.” The department maintained it was “in full compliance with both the Department’s conflict of interest rules and the Federal Acquisition Regulation.”
“Congress must not allow these funds to vanish without answers,” Power the Future said.
Fox News Digital reached out to Sherrill’s transition team, Granholm, and Biden’s office for comment but did not receive immediate replies.
