Biden official caught taking 'taypayer-funded EV road trip' worth $125,000

One of President Joe Biden's top officials has been caught using taxpayers' money to take a really expensive road trip. 

The New York Post reports that the official is Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm and the trip cost nearly $125,000.

The "road trip," according to the outlet, took place during the summer of 2023. The purpose of the trip was to try to garner support for electric vehicles.

Was it really necessary to spend $125,000 to achieve this goal? We'll leave that to you, the American taxpayers who paid for this trip, to answer.

Here's what happened:

Not only did Granholm use a good chunk of taxpayer money on a questionable cause, but it turns out that members of her staff may have committed various rule violations.

The Post reports:

Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm dropped nearly $125,000 in taxpayer money on pricey hotels and other expenses during her electric vehicle-boosting summer 2023 road trip — flanked by a gas-guzzling car — while her staff improperly exceeded their daily, federally determined allowances, according to the department’s watchdog.

The outlet goes on to report that Granholm and her team "submitted 42 travel vouchers worth $124,824 for the taxpayer-funded tour — but 36 of them had lodging costs valued over the government’s per diem rates to the tune of $9,487.50."

The Post adds that "Some of the travelers also received higher reimbursement amounts than they were supposed to and several travel reports had inaccurate information in them."

The exorbitant cost of the trip, according to the outlet, was due to the method of travel - namely, electric vehicles - and due to the fact that Granholm's team stayed at more costly hotels located near EV charging stations. You can find the full report, from the Energy Department's Office of the Inspector General, here.

Will there be consequences?

At the moment, it is looking as though the answer is "no," - unless you count the fact that the Biden administration, with Granholm, has been voted out of office.

Granholm, though, will likely find a cushy, high-paying job elsewhere.

The report was ordered by U.S. Rep. James Comer (R-KY).

He has released a statement on the findings, saying, "Today’s OIG report is further evidence of the Biden Administration failing to protect taxpayer dollars and leaving funds exposed to serious waste, fraud, and abuse."

He added, "Secretary Granholm embarked on a taxpayer-funded EV summer road trip to showcase its radical Green New Deal priorities. 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."