In a staggering revelation, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin has uncovered a clandestine maneuver by the previous Biden administration, involving the allocation of approximately $20 billion in taxpayer funds to an external financial institution. This move appears to have been a deliberate attempt to circumvent potential budgetary constraints anticipated from the succeeding administration. The funds, earmarked for environmental projects under the Inflation Reduction Act, were distributed among eight entities, notably including the Climate United Fund.
EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin announced Wednesday that he’s found $20 billion in taxpayer money that the Biden administration “parked” at a financial institution — in an apparent effort to prevent the Trump administration from cutting grants to “far-left activist groups.”
Administrator Zeldin has expressed profound concerns regarding the transparency and oversight of this allocation process. He is advocating for the immediate return of these funds to the EPA to ensure proper management and accountability. Zeldin has also indicated plans to refer this matter to the EPA’s inspector general and to collaborate with the Justice Department to uphold fiscal responsibility and public trust.
“Shockingly, roughly 20 billion of your tax dollars were parked at an outside financial institution by the Biden EPA,” Zeldin said. “This scheme was the first of its kind in EPA history, and it was purposefully designed to obligate all of the money in a rush job with reduced oversight.”
In December 2024, Project Veritas released an undercover interview with Brent Efron, a Special Advisor for Implementation at the EPA. Efron candidly described the agency’s frantic efforts to distribute funds before the transition of power, stating, “Now it’s how to get the money out as fast as possible before they [Trump Administration] come in … it’s like we’re on the Titanic and we’re throwing gold bars off the edge.”
Efron’s admission lays bare a troubling strategy: the EPA was funneling billions into nonprofits as a political buffer against incoming Republican oversight. He revealed that over the past year, the agency had disbursed $50 billion for climate initiatives, viewing these nonprofits as safer repositories for funds that might otherwise be retracted by a new administration. Efron even hinted at personal aspirations, noting that working for one of these well-funded organizations “would be really cool.”
It appears that X user Oilfield Rando was the one who identified this fund early one and was trying to call attention to it since at least January 30th.
This behavior is not just irresponsible; it’s a blatant betrayal of public trust. The EPA, an agency entrusted with safeguarding our environment, appears to have engaged in covert financial maneuvers to advance a specific political agenda, all while evading accountability. Such actions undermine the very foundation of our democratic system, where transparency and oversight are paramount.
The metaphor of “throwing gold bars off the Titanic” is particularly apt. It suggests a reckless desperation, a willingness to jettison valuable resources in a futile attempt to salvage a sinking agenda. But unlike the doomed passengers of the Titanic, the EPA had a choice. They chose to prioritize political expediency over fiscal responsibility, to the detriment of the American taxpayer.
Steve McIntyre has posted a thread on X detailing the intended recipients of this slush fund.
This scandal demands immediate action. The $20 billion must be returned to the EPA’s control, and a thorough investigation should be conducted to hold accountable those who orchestrated this scheme. Furthermore, this incident should serve as a clarion call for greater oversight of federal agencies, ensuring that they cannot operate as rogue entities pursuing their own agendas at the public’s expense.
The EPA’s actions represent a profound breach of public trust. It’s imperative that we address this misconduct head-on, not only to rectify the current situation but also to prevent such abuses in the future. The American people deserve a government that operates with integrity, transparency, and accountability—not one that throws their hard-earned “gold bars” into the abyss.
H/T joseph-zorzin, or-for
Discover more from Watts Up With That?
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
People need to go to prison. Root out all this disgusting corruption. It’s past time for a reckoning.
This is the true meaning of the word “progressive”.
Plus Mitch McConnell
Umpty Dumpty on a wall getting ready for another big fall.
Crystal ball sees another trip in his future.
But would Mitch know he was in prison and could his brain reset without help?
A whole lot of people need to be punished. Hundreds of $Billions if not $Trillions have been robbed from taxpayers, ratepayers, and everybody by grifters pushing the Great Climate Hoax for decades now. The damage done is unfathomable. We need more prisons, especially the kind without heat, light, or food.
Thank God for Trump. And just in time, we hope.
We also demand to get our money back!
That money is meant to be distributed to the evil doers, so they can undermine Trump for 4 years.
The funds at that bank should be frozen ASAP, so they will not be disbursed.
Freeze the BANK until all funds are accounted for and returned.
AI has the potential to become to accounting fraud what DNA testing did for prosecuting violent crime. We shall see whether the federal bureaucracy has what it takes to stand up to Big Balls.
Claw back is what I look forward to. A lot of people will give up some wealth, or ill begotten gains as Joe Biden called it, to stay out of jail.
That was also the issue with USAID, laundering money through nonprofits. There are enough “staff expenses” and the like to vanish much of the appropriation.
NGOs are also a place to park congressional or executive staffers while out of power.
Unbelievable…listen to the linked video…these guys need to go to jail!
James is doing good work.
The hits just keep coming! Ain’t tired of winning yet.
We are not winning yet. Slowing the tide, yes. Stopping the tide soon.
This is not the end, nor is it the beginning of the end. Possibly the end of the beginning, but that is not yet certain.
Trying to operate a government that depends on a religious world view of morality when the nation has abandoned the religious world view of morality.
Enough people here prove your point with the derogatory comments about a religious view.
Study the fall of all great empires, one such being Rome, it becomes clear we are in that death spiral.
Wealth accumulation versus growth. Ideology versus religion. In this ideology does not allow for a belief in something greater than ones self, whereas religion does — as used here.
This is theft and money laundering.
EPA got caught. USAID got caught. NIH got caught on research admin overhead. And we are only 3 weeks into 47 term.
Best is, Musk announced in the Oval that DOGE is going to investigate how civil servants and Congress critters got so rich on government salaries. He already knows the answer, which will keep Pam Bondi very busy after already suing Illinois and New York over sanctuary policies. Maxine Waters already said ‘I don’t know what they have!’—but she does. She lives in a multimillion dollar home not in her district, and funneled about $0.5 million to her daughter for ‘election work’ last year alone.
There is going to be permanent structural change, with district court nationwide injunctions and birthright citizenship already headed to SCOTUS.
I have been waiting for this for 4 years! Jail the perps!
Since Clinton Gore.
Shut down the EPA.
While I understand and appreciate the sentiment, please don’t get rid of EPA, the Clean Water Act, the Clean Air Act, or a host of other federal programs. Lots of people don’t realize that, without national programs, we face regulation by trial lawyer, with every person, city, state, NGO etc. bringing nuisance actions against every company and municipality that is upwind or upriver, with no standards that you can rely upon for a safe harbor. You’d never know what was allowable, and the lawsuits would be never-ending.
But reforming EPA so that it acts promptly and develops reasonable standards, and amending the environmental programs so they operate more effectively? That would be a dream come true.
Add efficiently to that wish list.
DOGE all EPA activities and wring out the sleazy bull manure, and cut the head count by 67%
Dave,
There is a view that the EPA is not required.
The people and corporations that receive commands from EPA to spend money on works are not criminals, except in rare instances for which a small enforcement structure is logical.
But, in my long experience in Australia, corporations are not asked what their existing plans are to correct a situation in need of correction. Often, there are detailed, suitable plans. The amount of money available for remediation is there, but the regulator decides it must be spent sooner. Often, the corporation knows far better how to spend its own funds and when and why, than the regulator does.
The truth of these observations is now unfolding as the US EPA is to be treated as a corporation itself, being regulated by Congress and being told to do certain things at certain times that might not suit it. Shoe on other foot stuff.
The fundamental problem is the large increase over the last 30 years of people paid to tell others what they can and cannot do. Encourage their return to productive skills and decrease incentives and positions for regulatory thinking. Geoff S
If you want to see just one example of the abuse of power by the American EPA, dive into the rabbit hole of the long history of Sackett VS EPA.
The essentials of it are the EPA was determined that every damp low spot in the country was going to be covered under their control as “wetlands” protected from anything being built on it without going through a long and costly Federal approval process to get a building permit (in addition to any State and/or local permits) – which the EPA would do their best to deny.
At its inception, the EPA had a real purpose. Smog is real pollution and a real health hazard. Fir primary purpose of the EPA back then was to combat smog. That objective was completed. There have been a few other pesky environmental pollution issues also dealt with.
As with most government agencies with a specific goal, once the goal is accomplished they are allowed to continue and to “create” opportunities to stay in business and grow their size and budget in the process.
We need a small core EPA that monitors. When a real pollution issue arises, pass the issue to Congress to deal with it. Congress, of course, can pass it onto the President, but Congress holds the purse strings.
Since the issues can happen trans-State lines, it needs to be Federal, not State, although every State should have a similar organization that communicates with the Federal.
The point is, do not throw out the baby with the bathwater.
I guarantee you that at least 80% of what you think EPA does is actually done now by the State environmental departments. EPA could have closed up shop 30 years ago and let the states handle the enforcement of federal law
I have a vague memory … several years old now, I can’t remember exactly how many … of some Internet poster making the argument that shutting down the federal EPA would be a (very) good idea, but the (50 ?) state EPA organisations should be retained to combat genuine “pollution” incidents (heavy metals in soil and water, chemical spills, backhoes breaching tailing ponds [ *cough*** Gold King mine ***cough*** ] etc.).
Are there any left-Pondians reading this with relevant real-life experience, who could provide a reasonable “vision” of how the nitty-gritty details of implementing such a suggestion might actually play out ?
Dropping 40 billion dollars into slush funds is normal and ordinary, isn’t it?
I mean, congress had to pass legislation for that to happen after all, didn’t they?
A Billion is only $3 per American. You won’t even miss it.
“A billion here, a billion there, and before long, you’re talking real money.” attr. Sen. Everett Dirksen 😉 😉
At Sen. Dirksen’s time, it was a million being referred to.
Being born and raised in Danville, Illinois, I remember the quip as: “A billion here, a billion there, it all adds up!
The late Senator other notable quip was:
“That is so much hogwash”!
“I mean, congress had to pass legislation for that to happen after all, didn’t they?”
They did. It is called the budget. All of the money the EPA spent was allocated to them by
congress. The fact that the new administration doesn’t like how the old administration spent
the money doesn’t make it illegal. When the time comes for the next year’s budget Congress can
decide whether or not to follow the wishes of the executive branch but however it decides to allocate
the money the executive has to implement it.
Congress specifies the purpose that the money must be used for in the legislation. Most of these garbage expenses are nowhere close to the intent and instructions of Congress.
Percisely, and that is why those misapropriated funds were already clawed back successfully. In fact the quid pro quo was in the conversation from the EPA person saying, “It sure would be nice to work for one of those NGOs”
Exactly, it’s fraud. Poor Izaak wants his freebies.
You Democrats are SO screwed!
Without the billions and billions of misappropriated dollars the Dems can no longer fund their climate and woke frauds, so they have no choice but to try to slow DOGE down with frivolous lawfare, making themselves look like the party of waste, fraud and theft.
“…..look like”?
…”to be”
Apologies for that error.
These aren’t the droids you are looking for. Move along. Move along.
Hey! Leave that rock alone.
Remember when Obama gave $500M to the IPCC during literally the last days of his Presidency? People wondered how he could do that without Congressional authority. The USA has degraded to being a third world country controlled by a Marxist cabal and no one in the US government seemed to care, except Trump, because everyone was dipping into the honey pot. It’s never too late to turn around the corruption.
There were 2 legitimate reasons to vote for Trump.
Did you vote for Trump or Elon Musk? It is very unclear who exactly is in charge.
You really need to study American history. Most Presidents have had unelected advisors who provided critical advice. Harry Hopkins, Armand Hammer, Eleanor Roosevelt, Clark Clifford, Ted Sorenson, Sherman Adams, and many others. They provided guidance to Presidents on foreign policy, economics, equal rights, and all aspects of the Office. Presidents have always done what Trump is doing; weighing the advice of experts and calling the shots.
What we have heard so far is the low hanging fruit of obvious waste and misspending. Do you disagree with any specific project that has been defunded? If so, what? I don’t think 80% of taxpayers, including Trump, disagree with any of Musk’s recommendations so far.
Ha! So is Trump Hitler or a weak leader who gives up authority? He was appointed by Trump, with all the needed security clearance to audit these three letter agencies of the Federal governement. Trump said that was exactly what he was going to do every other day for most of 2024.
The real question is how come you do not think it is good to root out hundreds of billions of dollars in waste and fraud?
lol…propaganda is strong with you. Are you like Simon and think Russia Colluuuusion is real?
Take off the now blurred rose colored glasses and look at it with clear vision.
There is not question who exactly is in charge.
What was unclear is who was in charge when Biden occupied the White House.
It’s only not clear to those who don’t want to see reality.
It’s very clear that Trump is in charge and that Musk is doing exactly what Trump tasked him to do.
Elon has been HIRED by Trump, for no pay !
There is no doubt Elon is doing EXACTLY as Trump and the American people want him to do.
The American people are in charge, for the first time in 4 years.
And the Democrats hate it. !!
Thank you.
Trump and Musk will have it covered.
Obama invested all these shenanigans, He gave $3 billion to the UN during the last days of his misrule to f… Trump
And Biden has been using that same playbook through the last weeks before his ouster.
The US no longer “donates” funds to the IPCC. You can use Google or Bing to obtain the budget of the IPCC. There is a table that list the donor countries and their donations to the IPCC.
You should check the budgets for the UNFCCC and the UN COP.
Hopefully, President Trump will end all funding to these organizations.
For the UN COP28 the pledge funds was 57 billion dollars.
Why am I not surprised?
I saw some reports about this in December.
No one commented. No one objected.
I began to wonder what to planet I had been teleported.
I remember it. The guy was obviously wasted, and an easy mark for Project Veritas. He just went on and on, literally bragging about it, and completely oblivious to the fact that he was set up.
That kid is going to need a job (for when the trust fund runs out)
When (if) he gets out of jail.
In Vino Veritas
You can bet this is just the tip of the iceberg at the EPA. There are all sorts of ways to waste money when we are talking about climate change issues, and you can bet the Biden administration wasted a lot.
I imagine every federal agency is going to be found to be doing just what USAID and the EPA are doing; Wasting billions of dollars, a lot of it on climate change issues, since the Biden administration had every agency concentrating on climate change. Climate change and DEI. Billions of dollars wasted here..
This government audit by Trump is not over by a long shot.
Trump was talking the other day about the aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln, and he said the aircraft carrier used an electrical catapult instead of a hydraulic catapult, and Trump said the electric one doesn’t work very well, subject to weather conditions and other problems, and Trump said he asked the designer of the ship if he had ever designed an aircraft carrier before! Trump didn’t say what the designer said back to him.
I thought that was funny.
Biden trying to electrify the military. I don’t think there’s going to be anymore of that nonsense now that Trump is in office, and beyond.
A few gentle corrections. It was the first of the new class, Gerald R. Ford. And while true that the linear electric catapults and lifts had initial teething problems, those have all since been fully solved. The reason for the catapults was to eliminate the complex steam system. Ditto the lifts eliminating the hydraulic systems. Both free up space and make maintenance much simpler, saving operating cost.
I have been shot off steam and hydraulic cats. I wonder what an electric shot would feel like.
It is a linear electric motor, just a scaled up version of what is commonly used in machine tools. It is digitally controlled, so acceleration will be exactly like a steam catapult for the sake of the aircraft.
I lived that transition. I used ultra precision lathes to make optics from almost the start of the technology. Aside from the incorporation of PC based CNC controllers, the innovations that occurred on my watch were the switch from distance measuring interferometers (yuk) to linear rails with nanometer resolution, poured epoxy/quartz granite bases, oil hydrodynamic ways, and the big one – linear drives. All of these improvements added up to an order of magnitude increase in precision and accuracy. The linear motors did away with all that fussy and problematic mechanical conversion of rotary to linear motion.
One of the problems with steam is that the operator has to dial in the pressure and then hope that he gets the right acceleration. Too much acceleration and the landing gear comes off, too little and the plane goes in the drink.
With electric, the operator dials in the desired acceleration and then the computer takes over and ensures that the asked for acceleration is provided.
Smoooooooth – like butta!
Here is a more detailed description of Trump’s conversation about aircraft carriers:
https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-criticizes-aircraft-carrier-engineering-in-possible-warning-sign-2025-2
Trump is back to criticizing US aircraft carrier engineering in what could be a warning sign for the US Navy
Trump has consistently questioned the Ford’s tech, advocating for traditional systems.
President Donald Trump criticized the technologies aboard the new US Navy supercarrier USS Gerald R. Ford on Wednesday in a discussion of waste, reviving complaints about the aircraft carrier’s engineering.
Agreed, but EPA is a small iceberg.
Al Gore, 2006
Like all Al Gore statements it’s a mixed salad of random incoherent junk. I wanted to sue him for the time I spent reading that book when I finished it.
Is somewhat ironic that he managed to score so many of the gold bars in “saving” the entire planet.
It will be an Arctic hit in the Midwest.
Good for Lee Zeldin to act swiftly on this! Wow. Let’s hope he can right the entire EPA ship, including withdrawing the 2009 Endangerment Finding on “greenhouse gases.”
Zeldin said tonight that they were looking into the organizations this $20 billion was supposed to go to, and it looked like the organizations had been formed at the same time the money went out! Zeldin wanted to know if any EPA employees were involved in setting up these organizations.
Zeldin said he was going to turn this over to the EPA Inspector General, and the Justice Department.
That’s the first time I’ve been able to write Justice Department without putting “quotes” around the “Justice” part, in a long time. It feels good! 🙂
Throw Menendez (NJ) instead of the gold bars.
Very nice Charles. We only have one problem and that is our government, it sucks. It is too powerful, it controls too much money, it favors some groups over others, it is unaccountable and it lies to us. All of this has to stop now.
See!? There you go again; proving the Abyssal Kleptocracy’s point that you are indeed a threat to their dreams of unchecked wealth and power! If only you would be more gullible and obedient, as they attempted to have you trained! Obsequious works, too; extra brownie points for obsequious!
The founding fathers tried to create a republic in the belief that the best governance occurs at the lowest level. The levels were needed to coordinate when needed, not to govern per se.
2 towns need an connecting road, the county provides coordination. 2 counties have an issue of water rights, the State provides coordination. The Federal government is, by the original design, limited and the States were considered sovereign. The Fed had oversight with limited powers.
So yes, our government is not accomplishing its primary purpose, which is to protect the citizens from the government. It has its hand in you wallet and is forcing decisions on you that really are personal decisions. Liberty means being able to make decisions for yourself without government interference. Part of how this shift occurred was when the government decided it had to protect you from the consequences of your bad decisions.
Nah. No more ranting. Not on Valentines Day.
When they made senators be elected by the popular vote instead of being appointed by state governments, they guaranteed that the federal government would quickly gather all power to itself, by stripping the states of their power.
Mark, my opinion is that they sowed the seeds in the beginning, by giving the federal capitol a fixed location instead of making it dependent on the states (and having to visit all of them over time).
Lincoln was the next major step, resulting in a consolidation of federal power making the states more subservient. (many will disagree with that, and probably call me names)
And then, yes, popular vote for senators was the next nail.
The Climate Crusade is the biggest fraud in human history.
Without a doubt.
…at least longest running. Give us another 5 years to get a better handle on COVID and the vaccines.
This is just a much needed attempt by the EPA to preserve “our democracy!” By that they, of course, mean their democracy; they didn’t vote for Trump, and probably don’t even know anyone who did; but they definitely voted for continuing the giant ATM machine that the Uniparty has made for themselves and their friends! How else do you expect them to get fabulously wealthy, work hard and earn it!?
I’m beginning to think that my choice of impalement as punishment for these cretins is far too painless and civilized! This is going to require a lot more research!
their democracy? Or their deep state bureaucracy?
One party autocracy.
Notice how we went from Republic to Democracy (JFK) and then to Liberal Democracy (Obama/Biden).
Last hope for Sunnova?
http://www.masterresource.org/solar-power-issues/sunnova-berger-bankruptcy/
The sublime irony with uncovering all these stinkers in residence and downright bloodsuckers leeches and crooks is it’s the productivity of fossil fuels that facilitated it all and yet they want to bite the very hand that feeds them and keeps them in the manner to which they’re accustomed.
On the bright side cometh the hour cometh the man in Donald J Trump warts and all and only sunlight democracy and freedom can produce such greatness and purpose in turning around from mediocrity and the wrong path. He’s learned a trick or two from experiencing the swamp and he’s not alone now having gathered true reformers around him and good Democrats have to stand up admit the wrongs and be counted with them. That’s assuming they really want scarce resources to target those in most need and not siphoned off like they have been.
…and good Democrats have to stand up admit the wrongs and be counted with them”
Black approval of Trump is up to 42 percent. At those press conferences you can watch all the photographers. They are likely 90 plus percent are Democrats, but not politicians. They are being exposed to a world of truth. My point is that I very much agree with you; a large percentage of their base will be leaving them in droves.
Especially after they see how the radical Democrats are whining over the cutting of waste, fraud and abuse from government spending.
Who wants to be on the side of people who favor waste, fraud and abuse? I bet a lot of Democrat voters don’t want to be there.
Let’s hope the radical Congressional Democrats keep throwing tantrums and making themselves look unhinged and out of touch with reality. They are turning themselves into laughing stocks.
I saw Democrat U.S. Senator Blumenthal demonstrating in front of the Veterans Affairs building after Trump got his VA Secretary approved, and Blementhal was going on and on about how Trump was supposedly going to take money away from nine million military veterans, and he, Blumenthal, was not going to stand for it. The great protector of the U.S. military, he presumes.
I had to laugh when I heard Blumenthal’s hyperbolic speech, seeing as how he is the last person I would want representing me about anything having to do with the U.S. Military, since Mr. Blumenthal is a member of the Vietnam war “Stolen Valor” club, because he lied about serving in Vietnam. He claimed he did, but that was a lie. So him standing up for military veterans is a little disingenuous, as far as I’m concerned. He’s trying to erase his past lies.
Why would Connecticut voters elect a Vietnam War Liar, like Blumenthal, to represent them? I think a person would have to be very stupid/naive to vote for Richard Blumenthal.