‘Taxpayer-Funded Publicity Stunt’: House Oversight Opens Probe into Energy Secretary’s EV Road Trip

The House Oversight Committee launched an inquiry into Department of Energy secretary Jennifer Granholm’s electric-vehicle road trip this summer, which resulted in a family calling the police on one of her staffers, calling the journey a “taxpayer-funded publicity stunt” intended to sell the transition to green energy.

Oversight chairman James Comer (R., Ky.) and Economic Growth, Energy Policy, and Regulatory Affairs Subcommittee chairman Pat Fallon (R., Texas) on Tuesday submitted a letter to Granholm, requesting she send documents and information related to the dysfunctional trip.

“This taxpayer-funded publicity stunt illustrates yet again how out of touch the Biden Administration is with the consequences of policies it has unleashed on everyday Americans,” the letter reads. “Committee Republicans remain committed to preserving freedoms like vehicle consumer choice in the face of an unproven, burdensome, and expensive Biden Administration push to force all Americans to buy EVs.”

According to NPR, many problems arose from Granholm’s use of electric vehicles during the long-distance trip, particularly over charging issues. These included long wait times, the difficulty of locating charging stations ahead of time, and the challenge of finding chargers that are compatible or even working. Granholm traveled from Charlotte, N.C., to Memphis, Tenn., over the course of four days.

The report went on to describe how a family called 911 when they couldn’t charge their vehicle because the station was blocked by a gas-powered car, which one of Granholm’s staffers placed in front of the only available charger to reserve the spot. The family was reportedly upset after waiting in the “sweltering” Georgia heat, with a baby inside their vehicle.

Apart from criticizing Granholm’s inconveniencing an American family, the GOP congressmen’s letter pointed out the irony of relying on an internal-combustion-engine vehicle to block charging access to civilians while touting electric vehicles as the future of personal transportation.

“DOE staff and Secret Service used ICE vehicles while supporting your EV ‘caravan,'” Comer and Fallon wrote. “Your fleet of EVs could not complete the trip without the support of the fossil fuel industry which you and the Biden Administration have been intent to vilify and destroy.”

Since President Joe Biden took office, his administration has been pushing for a nationwide transition to electric vehicles by 2030 by investing billions of dollars into the technology and charging infrastructure.

Comer and Fallon write that they want to “understand the purposes, costs, and consequences” of the trip. Granholm must send the requested documents and information no later than October 10 and provide a staff-level briefing on the matter by October 3.