In its last two working days, the Biden administration’s Energy Department signed off on nearly $42 billion for green energy projects—a sum that exceeded the total amount its Loan Programs Office had put out in the past decade.
The frenzied activity on Jan. 16 and 17, 2025, capped a spending binge that saw the Loan Programs Office approve at least $93 billion in current and future disbursements after Vice President Kamala Harris lost the 2024 election in November, according to documents provided by the department to RealClearInvestigations. It appears that Biden officials were rushing to deploy billions in approved funding in anticipation that the incoming Trump administration would seek to redirect uncommitted money away from clean energy projects.
The agreements were made despite a warning from the department’s inspector general, urging the loan office to suspend operations in December over concerns that postelection loans could present conflicts of interest.