House Republicans Launch Investigation into Energy Secretary Biden’s Turbulent Electric Vehicle Journey

House Republicans are investigating a road trip U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm took this summer to promote the Biden administration’s push for electric vehicles.

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The DOE caravan reportedly consisted of at least three electric vehicles: a Cadillac LYRIQ, a Chevrolet Bolt, and an electric version of the Ford F-150. An advance team reportedly traveled ahead of Ms. Granholm’s convoy to search out chargers in order to keep the energy secretary’s road trip on schedule.

NPR reported that during one of the recharging stops, the advance team realized that not enough electric vehicle charging stations were available, so a DOE employee laid claim to one of the chargers by parking a vehicle with a conventional, internal combustion engine at the charging station. This move to occupy the electric vehicle charger for Ms. Granholm’s convoy left a family unable to access the charging station on a hot day while they had a baby on board. The family eventually called the police on the DOE employee who had blocked the charging station.

The lawmakers further noted the allegation that DOE staff caused an inconvenience for a family with an infant child that needed to charge their EV on a hot day.

The lawmakers also noted NPR’s reporting that indicated the Cadillac LYRIQ in the DOE caravan experienced what the publication referred to as an “isolated hardware issue.”

In their letter to Ms. Granholm, the two Republican lawmakers asked the energy secretary to turn over documentation pertaining to this EV road trip, including details about the planning and DOE staff involved in the trip. The lawmakers also asked for more details about the issues the Cadillac experienced during the convoy.

The Republican investigation may serve to discredit President Joe Biden’s push for a more rapid and widespread adoption of EVs.

“This taxpayer-funded publicity stunt illustrates yet again how out of touch the Biden Administration is with the consequences of policies it has unleashed on everyday Americans,” Mr. Comer and Mr. Fallon wrote in their letter to Ms. Granholm.

The Biden Admin’s EV Push

The Biden administration is working to transition the U.S. market to electric vehicles, and has set a goal to have EVs represent 50 percent of all new car sales by 2030.