The Biden administration didn’t just waste taxpayer money. They didn’t even bother pretending to watch where it went.
The EPA’s Office of Inspector General just released an audit of grants awarded under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. The findings? Catastrophic.
Thirty-nine out of 40 grant files reviewed weren’t maintained according to protocol. EPA regional offices “did not have controls in place” to monitor whether grant recipients were actually doing what they promised.
Over $22 billion in taxpayer funds. Almost no oversight. Nobody watching the till.
39 Out of 40 Files — That’s Not a Mistake, That’s a Policy
Let’s put that number in perspective.
The inspector general reviewed 40 grant files. Thirty-nine failed to meet basic documentation standards.
That’s a 97.5% failure rate.
When nearly every file fails review, you’re not looking at individual mistakes. You’re looking at systemic negligence. A culture where oversight simply didn’t exist.
The Biden EPA wasn’t accidentally sloppy. They were deliberately indifferent to where your money went.
“Impossible to Verify” If Anyone Followed the Rules
The OIG’s conclusion is devastating:
The Biden administration’s lack of oversight made it “impossible to verify if grant recipients are complying with federal regulations, EPA policy, and grant requirements.”
Impossible to verify.
Billions of dollars went out the door for drinking water infrastructure, wastewater systems, Superfund cleanup. Did the money actually go to those purposes? Did recipients do what they promised?
Nobody knows. Because nobody checked.
The Biden EPA handed out cash and walked away. Whatever happened next was someone else’s problem.
Lee Zeldin: “The Days of Colossally Wasteful Spending Are Over”
EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin didn’t sugarcoat it:
“This audit reveals just how deeply ingrained the culture of waste was during the previous administration. The American people put President Trump in office with a mandate to stamp out this rot.”
He continued: “The days of colossally wasteful spending and subjecting hard-earned American tax dollars to waste and abuse are over.”
Zeldin has been cleaning house since taking over. He’s already cancelled over $20 billion in funds flowing to well-connected green groups through Biden’s “Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund” — what he calls the “gold bars scheme.”
The same lack of oversight that plagued infrastructure grants infected every Biden-era EPA program. Zeldin is systematically shutting down the waste.
The “Gold Bars” Scheme They Already Killed
This audit isn’t the first evidence of Biden EPA malfeasance.
Zeldin moved quickly to terminate what he called the “gold bars scheme” — the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund that funneled $20 billion to politically connected environmental groups.
The Trump EPA froze those funds. Green groups sued, claiming there was “no legal justification” for withholding money already allocated.
A three-judge panel ruled 2-1 in September to uphold the freeze. Now the D.C. Circuit has agreed to rehear the case.
The fight continues. But the pattern is clear: Biden’s EPA existed to funnel money to allies, not to protect the environment or serve taxpayers.
$22 Billion — Where Did It Actually Go?
Here’s what the grants were supposed to fund:
- Drinking water infrastructure
- Wastewater systems
- Stormwater management
- Superfund cleanup
- Brownfield remediation
Important stuff. Infrastructure Americans actually need.
But without oversight, there’s no way to know if the money reached those purposes. Did contractors deliver what they promised? Did states use funds appropriately? Did anyone commit fraud?
The Biden EPA didn’t know. They didn’t want to know. They just wanted to spend.
“No Controls in Place”
The inspector general found that EPA regional offices “did not have controls in place to ensure that its regional offices are monitoring post-award performance of grants.”
No controls. None.
The grants went out. The monitoring didn’t happen. Regional offices weren’t even expected to track whether recipients performed.
This is government at its worst. Spending without accountability. Authority without responsibility. Billions dispersed with no mechanism to verify results.
Why This Matters Beyond the Money
The $22 billion is bad enough. But the implications go further.
If the EPA can’t track infrastructure grants, what else are they missing? What other programs operated without oversight? What other billions disappeared into bureaucratic black holes?
The Biden administration’s philosophy was clear: Spend fast, worry never. Get money out the door before anyone can ask questions. Create facts on the ground that the next administration can’t reverse.
They succeeded at spending. They failed at everything else.
The Trump EPA Is Fixing It
Zeldin committed to working with the inspector general “to strengthen the financial controls and accountability measures that were missing under the Biden administration.”
That’s the difference between administrations.
Biden’s EPA: Shovel money out the door, don’t ask questions, don’t maintain records, don’t verify compliance.
Trump’s EPA: Establish controls, maintain documentation, verify that taxpayer dollars achieve their intended purposes.
Basic competence shouldn’t be revolutionary. But after four years of Biden, it is.
The Audit Trail That Didn’t Exist
Think about what it means that 39 of 40 files weren’t properly maintained.
When auditors come looking, they need documentation. Grant applications. Progress reports. Compliance certifications. Financial records.
Without proper files, you can’t audit effectively. You can’t identify waste. You can’t catch fraud. You can’t hold anyone accountable.
The Biden EPA’s record-keeping failure wasn’t accidental. It was protective. Hard to prove malfeasance when no one kept records.
“Deeply Ingrained Culture of Waste”
Zeldin’s phrase deserves repetition: “deeply ingrained culture of waste.”
This wasn’t a few bad actors. This wasn’t isolated incompetence. This was culture — the way things were done throughout the Biden EPA.
Changing culture takes time. It requires new leadership at every level. It demands accountability that didn’t exist before.
Zeldin is implementing that change. But cleaning up four years of institutional rot won’t happen overnight.
Your Money, Their Negligence
Here’s the bottom line.
You paid taxes. Those taxes funded $22 billion in EPA grants. The Biden administration handed out that money without maintaining files, without monitoring compliance, without verifying results.
Nobody knows if the money was well spent. Nobody knows if it was wasted. Nobody knows if it was stolen.
That’s not government. That’s a heist with paperwork.
The Trump administration is restoring accountability. The inspector general is documenting the damage. And American taxpayers are finally learning just how badly the Biden EPA failed them.
“The days of colossally wasteful spending are over.”
They’d better be. We can’t afford any more.