The Biden administration remains desperate to convince Americans that electric vehicles are the green-energy wave of the future despite an inadequate infrastructure to support them and the fact that EV production is arguably worse for the environment than automobiles powered by traditional combustion engines.
In the pursuit of the leftist narrative, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm recently hit the road in an EV with the intention of attracting publicity and highlighting the supposed benefits of the new automotive technology.
Instead, she ended up with a visit from local cops and a congressional investigation into the stunt.
The controversy stems from reports that staffers attempted to reserve a charging station ahead of Granholm’s arrival by parking a gas-powered car in front of the charger and preventing access from other motorists. One of those EV owners blocked by the Energy Department staffer called police to report the situation.
Now, the Republican-led House Oversight and Accountability Committee is conducting its own probe and sent a strongly worded letter to Granholm.
Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY) dismissed the agency’s claim that the four-day summer tour across the Southeast was “intended to draw attention to the billions of dollars the White House is pouring into green energy and clean cars.”
If that was the intent, it seems to have backfired — as the committee detailed in its letter.
“Using an internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicle, your Department of Energy (DOE) staff blocked off an EV-only charging station so you could stay on a schedule which was ‘painstakingly mapped out ahead of time’ because of limited, slow, and nonworking EV chargers along your route,” the Republicans wrote. “In ‘sweltering’ Georgia heat, your staff’s actions caused a family with an infant child and low charge on their EV battery to call the police out of urgency while waiting at this charging station.”
Granholm subsequently blamed the fiasco on “poor judgment” on the part of the staffer, but the congressional letter asserted that it actually served to illustrate “yet again how out of touch” the current administration is with respect to its policies’ impacts on the American people.
Granholm’s trip did nothing but prove the current shortcomings of EVs. Instead of pushing an agenda, let the market and the American people decide what’s best for them. It’s time for Washington to get out of the way! https://t.co/4dw1brwDcc
— Congresswoman Debbie Lesko (@RepDLesko) September 26, 2023
“Committee Republicans remain committed to preserving freedoms like vehicle consumer choice in the face of an unproven, burdensome, and expensive Biden Administration push to force all Americans to buy EVs,” the letter asserted. “We request documents and information to understand the purposes, costs, and consequences of your summer 2023 EV road trip.”
