Joe Biden called it a green energy program.
His own EPA officials called it something else entirely.
And what the new EPA chief found inside that $29 billion fund just triggered federal criminal referrals.
How Biden Used the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund to Pay Back Political Allies
The Inflation Reduction Act signed by Joe Biden gave Democrats $27 billion to pour into something called the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund – and they treated it like a personal ATM for their friends.
Biden's team funneled the money through eight nonprofits, most of them brand new, most of them staffed by former Obama and Biden administration officials.
One of those nonprofits reported exactly $100 in total revenue the year before Biden handed it $2 billion.
The group was so financially incompetent that the grant agreement required them to complete "How to Develop a Budget" training within 90 days of receiving the money.
Then there's Jahi Wise – the man Biden put in charge of the entire fund.
Wise left his job as policy director at the Coalition for Green Capital to join the Biden administration.
Then he personally oversaw a $5 billion grant back to his former employer – without recusing himself.
Democrats turned that green energy money into a slush fund.
EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said: "They would work with these different agencies of the Biden administration to get it out to their unqualified friends. The whole thing just feels criminal."
A Biden EPA political appointee was caught on video bragging about "tossing gold bars off the Titanic" before Trump took office – rushing the money out the door before anyone could stop them.
Career EPA staffers raised red flags during the application review process – warning that these groups had no financial background to handle billions in federal funds.
Biden's team overrode them.
Zeldin Sends the Inflation Reduction Act Fraud to DOJ and the Inspector General
Zeldin referred multiple transactions to the EPA's Inspector General and the Justice Department for possible prosecution.
"Those referrals have been made," he said on the John Solomon Reports podcast.
The House Oversight Committee released a full investigative report – titled "The Green New Scam" – documenting how Biden weaponized the fund to reward Democratic allies.
Chairman James Comer called it a "sweeping green energy scheme designed to funnel tens of billions in taxpayer dollars to enrich Democratic allies."
Judicial Watch is already in federal court demanding every document connected to the grant.
Tom Fitton put it directly: "As the Biden administration was collapsing in 2024, it lawlessly rushed out billions in cash to left-wing interest groups in a way that encouraged fraud and abuse."
The full D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals is reviewing the case – and it could reach the Supreme Court.
No major criminal prosecutions have been brought yet.
Zeldin is confident that when the litigation ends, most of the $29 billion he has blocked goes back to the Treasury.
"We're not taking money from left-wing NGOs to give them to right-wing NGOs," Zeldin said. "This is about getting that money back to the taxpayer."
This is the blueprint Biden Democrats used every time they controlled the government – write legislation with vague funding mechanisms, staff the agencies with donors and allies, then route taxpayer billions back to the political network before anyone can audit it.
The Inflation Reduction Act passed without a single Republican vote.
The Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund was built from day one to limit oversight.
A Biden EPA appointee described the final days of the giveaway as throwing gold bars off a sinking ship.
They knew exactly what they were doing.
The only question now is whether Pam Bondi's Justice Department follows the referrals where they lead.
Sources:
- John Solomon, "EPA boss made criminal referrals alleging Democrats 'self-dealing' in lucrative green energy grants," Just the News, June 1, 2026.
- Lee Zeldin, "EPA Formally Refers Financial Mismanagement of $20B 'Gold Bars' to Inspector General," EPA.gov, March 3, 2025.
- Joe Schoffstall, "Stacey Abrams's Climate Group Banked $5M in Taxpayer Funds Before Trump Admin Axed the Grant, Tax Docs Show," Washington Free Beacon, December 18, 2025.
- Joe Schoffstall, "'Serious Conflicts of Interest': Biden EPA Official Oversaw $5B Grant to His Former Employer," Washington Free Beacon, February 20, 2025.
- Judicial Watch, "Judicial Watch Sues EPA for Records on Biden's $2 Billion Election Year Grant to Stacey Abrams," Judicial Watch, May 2026.
- House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, "The Green New Scam: The Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund," September 11, 2025.
- Adam Sabes, "Stacey Abrams slammed after defending $2 billion in Biden-era EPA funds to buy green energy appliances," Fox News, March 9, 2025.