Federal agencies accelerated climate-related funding after the 2024 debate, and some senior officials later joined organizations that benefited from those grants, according to a watchdog analysis.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
Senior officials from multiple federal agencies during the Biden administration later went to work for nonprofit organizations that received large sums of federal grant money from those same agencies, according to a new analysis by a government watchdog group.
The findings come as the Department of Energy announced it is eliminating more than $83 billion in loans and conditional commitments issued through its Loans Programs Office during the Biden years, describing them as “Green New Scam” financing. Since taking office, the Trump administration has also moved to roll back funding that was rushed out during the final months of the prior administration.
According to the watchdog group Democracy Restored, the pace of federal grant obligations surged after former President Joe Biden’s widely criticized June 27, 2024 debate with now-President Donald Trump. Using data from USASpending.gov, the group found that federal agencies obligated more than $600 million to more than a dozen environmental and climate-focused nonprofits beginning July 1, 2024. After the Nov. 5 election, obligations to those same organizations fell sharply, totaling $246 million.
As Just the News reported, Democracy Restored identified multiple cases in which high-level agency officials either previously worked for, or later took jobs with, nonprofit groups that received substantial federal funding while those officials held senior government roles.
Among the grants identified was a $1 million award issued by the Department of Energy to the World Resources Institute in August 2024 for school bus fleet electrification training and collaboration. Jigar Shah, who previously led the DOE’s Loans Programs Office, is now a senior fellow at the World Resources Institute. Jennifer Wilcox, formerly principal deputy assistant secretary in the DOE’s Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management, is also listed as a senior fellow at the institute.
“I think the money being shoveled out after President Biden’s debate and the apparent revolving door of appointees going to recipients of these federal funds raises many questions about the timing of the money, the impact of special interests in the Biden administration and the general ethics surrounding this behavior,” Houston Keene, director of Democracy Restored, told Just the News.
The Loans Programs Office, now renamed the Office of Energy Dominancy Financing, has drawn particular scrutiny. According to a report by the Washington Beacon, Shah’s office approved a loan to Plug Power in May 2024 to support green hydrogen projects. Through his private equity firm, Shah had previously invested $100 million in the company, which once described his former firm as a “longstanding partner,” according to the Beacon. Shah told the outlet he did not work directly on the loan and that the application predated his tenure.
An Office of Inspector General audit released in December found that one in five Loans Programs Office employees reviewed had a potential conflict of interest or appearance of impaired impartiality. Energy Secretary Chris Wright later testified that while the office issued about $40 billion in loans over the prior 15 years, that figure jumped to $100 billion in the final 76 days of the Biden administration, with agreements lacking traditional safeguards.
Democracy Restored also identified similar patterns at other agencies. Renee Stone, who served in senior leadership roles at NOAA, later became vice president of climate at the Audubon Society. During the Biden administration, the group received nearly $4 million across three grants for habitat restoration projects. Monica Medina, formerly a senior NOAA official, is now a distinguished fellow at Conservation International, which received a $9 million grant in 2023.
Former White House policy adviser Chetan Hebbale later joined the Nature Conservancy as a climate and conservation finance adviser. While Biden was in office, the nonprofit received more than $6 million across multiple federal programs and grants.
Additional funding went to offshore wind advocates. Susan Ruffo, a former Oceans Conservancy executive, later worked at NOAA and other federal agencies. During the Biden administration, Oceans Conservancy received nearly $6 million through two NOAA grants. The organization has been a public supporter of Biden’s offshore wind initiative and also received backing from offshore wind developer Orsted.
Federal law restricts certain post-government activities by former senior officials, but those rules do not bar former employees from accepting jobs with private or nonprofit entities that previously received federal funding, according to ethics regulations.
Keene said there is no evidence that the individuals directly worked on the specific grants awarded to their future employers, but he argued the pattern warrants closer scrutiny.
“I think it says a lot about the stewardship of tax dollars under the Biden administration,” Keene said. “If you were an organization that agreed with the administration politically, they weren’t afraid to cut you a check. That’s a problem for the taxpayer.”