Road trip tumult: Energy Dept. blistered for wasting taxpayer money on electric vehicle boondoggle

Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm abused American taxpayers with her 2023 publicity road trip in an electric vehicle, said an inspector general who accused her team of overselling their expenses on some travel vouchers and choosing expensive hotel rooms when cheaper ones were available.

The inspector general said 36 of the 42 travel vouchers submitted for the trip exceeded the government’s daily allowance for expenses.

Some travelers failed to use their government-issued charge cards, which resulted in a loss of the 2% rebate rate usually paid on government expenses.

Although the actual loss in rebates, $51, was slight, Rep. James Comer, the Kentucky Republican who asked for the audit, said it symbolized waste.

“This publicity stunt not only illustrates how out of touch the Biden administration is with the consequences of its policies but came at the expense of American taxpayers,” said Mr. Comer, chairman of the House Oversight and Accountability Committee.

In the fall of 2023, Ms. Granholm led a caravan of electric vehicles on a four-day trip through North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Tennessee. Her goal was to highlight the massive taxpayer funding that President Biden was pouring into his green energy plans.

The trip became an embarrassment when her caravan had difficulty finding enough charging stations. Police were called when one of her staffers blocked a charging station to try to reserve it for Ms. Granholm’s arrival.

After the trip, Mr. Comer began investigating the expense and whether Ms. Granholm’s team broke the expensing rules for the $124,823.94 in travel vouchers submitted.

The inspector general said Mr. Comer was onto something.

Nearly every voucher exceeded the government’s allotted per diem rate, putting the total over budget by $9,487.50.

One traveler was reimbursed $339 for a stay in Atlanta, more than double the per diem rate.

“Travelers could have chosen different nearby hotels to reduce travel costs at the government’s expense; however, department officials mentioned difficulties finding hotels with functioning EV chargers onsite or nearby,” the inspector general said.

Investigators said officials may exceed per diem rates when “mission requirements” demand it, but they found plenty of options if Ms. Granholm’s team had worked a little harder on behalf of taxpayers.

“We found that there were nearby hotels at each location where travelers could have inquired about government per diem rates or lower than those of the selected hotels with EV chargers. In fact, we identified numerous alternative hotels in each of the four states which were less than a mile away from the chosen hotels,” the inspector general said.

Christopher Davis, Ms. Granholm’s chief of staff, said the trip was complicated and required sacrifices.

“As the department explained to the OIG, plans change often, quickly and at the last minute. Flexibility is paramount and time is at a premium, while at the same time some security and logistical considerations are non-negotiable,” Mr. Davis said in the department’s official response to the report.

Mr. Davis acknowledged that travelers regularly exceeded the per diem rate but said the decisions furthered the trip’s objectives.

He confirmed that employees exceeded the 15% tipping rate on some meals, costing an extra $22.49. Mr. Davis said the department warned those employees about the 15% limit.

Mr. Davis said the employees who didn’t use their government-issued charge cards seemed to have forgotten them at home. He said they took “appropriate” action, though he acknowledged that the government lost $51 in rebates.

Mr. Davis said the department would agree to the inspector general’s recommendations to conduct refresher training and prod bean counters to conduct stricter scrutiny of travel expenses.