President Trump is opening an audit into a $7 billion solar panel program created by Joe Biden, as EPA director Lee Zeldin continues a crackdown on dubious "climate" spending set aside by the previous administration.
The Biden team sold its $7 billion "Solar for All" program as an effort to deliver "environmental justice" to poor communities.
Now, the Trump administration is raising questions about where all of that money is going.
The funding is part of a $27 billion pot called the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund - also known as Biden's "green bank" - that was created under his signature climate law, the Inflation Reduction Act.
"Under the $7 billion Solar for All program, the 60 grant recipients will create new or expand existing low-income solar programs, which will enable over 900,000 households in low-income and disadvantaged communities to benefit from distributed solar energy," the Biden administration said at the time.
President Trump froze the $7 billion for the program on his first day back in the Oval Office.
According to a review of the program by RealClearInvestigations, the funding mainly benefits Democrat-run states and non-profits aligned with the progressive agenda.
The biggest winner, Grid Alternatives, was awarded $311.4 million to perform its work, which is guided by "equity, anti-racism, economic justice (and) environmental justice," according to its website.
Some states that received money from Solar for All are among the cloudiest in the nation, such as Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont, the Daily Caller noted.
Gloria Taylor-Upshaw, an audit official for the EPA Office of The Inspector General, sent a letter announcing an audit to Julie Zavala, a deputy director of the EPA office responsible for administering the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund.
“Our objective is to describe the status of funds, top recipients, and potential risks and impacts of the EPA’s Solar for All program within the Office of the Administrator’s Office of the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund,” the letter reads. “We plan to conduct work at headquarters and regions, if necessary.”
The review comes after Zeldin announced the termination of the other $20 billion in the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund - money Biden set aside for a handful of "politically connected, unqualified and in some cases brand-new” climate nonprofits, according to Zeldin.
A federal judge appointed by Barack Obama has temporarily blocked Zeldin's termination of the $20 billion.
Zeldin has accused the Biden administration of a shady effort in its waning days to reward political allies with tax dollars - and Zeldin has pledged to get that money back.
“Not only does EPA have full authority to take this action, but frankly, we were left with no other option,’' Zeldin said in a video. “This termination is based on substantial concerns regarding program integrity, objections to the award process, programmatic fraud, waste and abuse, and misalignment with the agency’s priorities.”
