GOP Senator John Kennedy (LA) exposed Biden for billions of dollars in wasteful, secretive deals during an explosive hearing with Department of Energy Secretary Chris Wright, who said that in just the 76 days between President Trump’s election and Biden’s departure from office, a staggering amount of taxpayer money was sent out from the Energy Department.
For context, during a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on May 22, 2025, Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) questioned Energy Secretary Chris Wright on billions of dollars that reportedly went out from the Department of Energy before Biden left office. Shockingly, the secretary explained that twice as much money as in the past 15 years combined had left the agency under Biden’s watch during that short period.
During the hearing, Sen. Kennedy asked Secretary Wright to shed light on “the period between the time that President Trump was elected and President Biden left office.” He asked, “During that short period of time, 76 days, how much taxpayer money went out the door of the Department of Energy?” The secretary replied, “From the loan program office in loans and commitments, $93 billion, well over twice as much as in the previous 15 years.”
Flabbergasted, the senator asked how the agency could possibly “vet and do due diligence on a loan in 76 days,” adding, “One loan, much less $93 billion. How do you do it?” The secretary replied, “I think it’s probably pretty clear it wasn’t done in many cases.” He added, “I’m told I’m holding back clearly, in place stuff, there is lots of funds that have gone out the door, and commitments that were made from businesses that provided no business plan, no numbers about their own financial solvency.”
Growing even more shocked, Sen. Kennedy asked Secretary Wright, “You’re telling me that the Department of Energy, in the 76-day period before their boss was going to leave office, gave or loaned money to entities that had no business plan?” The secretary replied, “Correct.” “No financials?” the senator asked. “Correct,” the secretary replied again.
Next, the secretary explained that some funds left the agency “before the 76-day period as well,” saying, “I’ve come in with great concern about how this institution, this great American institution, has been run, and how American taxpayer money has been handled.” He added, “I’m sorry, everyone’s upset that we’re taking some time to do it.”
Moreover, the senator asked the secretary if anyone had ever “come to the Department of energy to get some of this free money” and been dishonest about their intentions, to which the secretary replied, “I have not experienced that, but I think it’s a reasonable assumption that that has happened.”‘
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Pushing further, the senator asked the secretary whether companies or individuals had approached the Department of Energy for loans “with a half-baked idea.” The secretary replied, “I think it’s very conceivable.” He added, “My blood pressure is rising right now, just thinking about what we have seen and what did happen.”
Watch a clip from the hearing:
Featured image credit: screengrab from the embedded video