Climate United Fund: A $7 billion boondoggle exposing the rot in climate spending

• The Climate United Fund, a hastily formed nonprofit, received a record-breaking $7 billion grant from the Biden administration’s Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF) in April 2024. Despite promises of clean energy projects, the majority of the funds remain unaccounted for, with only a small fraction allocated to actual initiatives.
• The fund’s financial disclosures are opaque, with no clear information on officer salaries, project plans, or basic accountability measures. The fund’s rapid spending and mysterious disappearance of funds raise serious concerns about its management and intentions.
• The fund’s leadership is dominated by Democratic insiders, including former Obama aides and political operatives. This has fueled accusations of cronyism and favoritism, suggesting the grant was awarded based on political connections rather than merit or need.
• The Biden administration rushed to distribute $20 billion to newly formed environmental nonprofits before the 2024 election, leading to widespread waste and abuse. The lack of oversight and accountability has been criticized as a betrayal of public trust.
• The Trump administration has frozen access to the remaining funds and initiated investigations into fraud, waste and conflicts of interest. Environmental groups are pushing back, but the lack of transparency and evidence of mismanagement has left many demanding accountability and a thorough investigation into the scandal.

The Climate United Fund, a hastily assembled nonprofit, has become the poster child for government waste, cronyism and outright corruption. In April 2024, this shadowy entity secured a staggering $7 billion grant from the Biden administration’s Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF) — the largest nonprofit grant in U.S. history. What was supposed to be a bold step toward clean energy has instead devolved into a taxpayer-funded slush fund for Democratic insiders, leaving Americans rightfully outraged and demanding accountability.

This scandal is not just about wasted money; it’s about the erosion of trust in government. It’s about how climate change has become a convenient excuse for unchecked spending, backroom deals and political favoritism. And it’s about the hardworking Americans who are footing the bill for this disgraceful charade.

A nonprofit built on smoke and mirrors

The Climate United Fund was cobbled together in November 2022 with a laughable $547,000 in revenue. By 2023, it had already burned through $451,000 in just two months, with $323,000 of that amount mysteriously unaccounted for in its tax filings. Where did the money go? No one knows. The fund’s financial disclosures are a black hole, offering no details on officer pay, project plans, or even basic accountability measures.

Yet, despite this glaring lack of transparency, Vice President Kamala Harris and EPA Chief Michael Regan handed over 7 million in taxpayer money to this dubious entity. The fund’s vague promises of solar projects in Idaho, Arkansas and Oregon amounted to a paltry 50 million — less than 1% of the total grant. The rest? Vanished into the ether, with no clear explanation or oversight.

This isn’t just incompetence; it’s a deliberate betrayal of the public trust. As one EPA insider was caught on tape saying, the Biden administration’s rush to spend these funds before Trump took office in January 2025 was like “throwing gold bars off the Titanic.”

A who’s who of Democratic cronyism

The Climate United Fund’s leadership reads like a who’s who of Democratic insiders. CEO Beth Bafford is a former Obama aide and campaign operative. The board includes California Democratic Party Chairman Phil Angelides, Obama’s Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx, and Stacey Abrams, whose linked group, Power Forward Communities, quietly pocketed some of the funds.

This isn’t climate action; it’s a taxpayer-funded piggy bank for political pals. The fund’s ties to Democratic heavyweights reek of cronyism and favoritism, raising serious questions about how this grant was awarded in the first place.

The broader GGRF is no better. After Biden’s 2024 election loss, his administration rushed $20 billion to eight newly minted environmental nonprofits. These groups, like the Climate United Fund, were given billions with little to no oversight, leading to rampant waste and abuse.

The fight for accountability

Thankfully, the Trump administration is taking action. EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin has frozen access to the $20 billion held by Citibank, citing fraud, waste, abuse and conflicts of interest. The DOJ and FBI are investigating, but the lack of hard evidence so far is maddening.

Zeldin has also called for an inspector general probe into the GGRF, highlighting the program’s reckless financial management and blatant conflicts of interest. As acting EPA Deputy Administrator W.C. McIntosh wrote in a referral letter, “Recent findings reveal a pattern of astonishing sums of tax dollars awarded to unqualified recipients and severe deficiencies in regulatory oversight under the prior administration.”

But the fight is far from over. Environmental groups are pushing back, claiming that freezing the funds violates contracts and federal law. However, as Georgetown law professor David Super noted, “There’s nothing that allows this unilateral termination of the contracts or unilateral interruptions, so the federal government is in breach of contract right now.”

A betrayal of public trust

The Climate United Fund scandal is a microcosm of everything wrong with government spending on climate initiatives. It’s a cautionary tale of how noble goals can be hijacked by political opportunists and used to line the pockets of the well-connected.

This isn’t just about $7 billion; it’s about the integrity of our institutions. It’s about ensuring that taxpayer dollars are spent wisely and transparently, not funneled into the hands of political cronies.

As investigations continue and lawsuits pile up, one thing is clear: the American people deserve answers. They deserve accountability. And they deserve a government that puts their interests above political gamesmanship.

The Climate United Fund is a disgrace, and it’s time for those responsible to be held to account.

Sources include:

WattsUpWithThat.com

Politco.com

IowaClimate.org