Outrageous: Biden-Harris Officials Jet to COP29 on Taxpayer Dime as Administration Ends

November 15, 2024

In a reckless display of disregard for taxpayer dollars, high-ranking Biden-Harris administration officials, including Senior Adviser to the President for International Climate Policy John Podesta, National Climate Adviser Ali Zaidi, and Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm, are attending the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP29) in Baku, Azerbaijan, despite a new administration taking office in just over two months. Power The Future has sent a letter to the House Oversight Committee to draw attention to this wasteful spending, hold these officials accountable, and demand that records are kept so the taxpayer can know how reckless this trip is:

“Power The Future urges the House Oversight Committee to scrutinize the taxpayer-funded travel of Biden-Harris administration officials to the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP29) currently taking place in Baku, Azerbaijan. The American public strongly rejected the leftist agenda of climate alarmism on November 5th and do not wish for their hard-earned dollars to be wasted on outgoing officials jet-setting around the world to a petrostate before a new administration begins. This is egregiously wasteful.”

The American people made their will known at the ballot box on November 5^th, and they resoundingly rejected the Biden-Harris administration’s radical climate agenda. Yet, officials like John Podesta, Ali Zaidi, and Jennifer Granholm are using their final days in office to jet around the world, attending climate conferences that do little more than provide networking opportunities for the climate elite. This is an unacceptable use of taxpayer dollars, plain and simple.

These officials have flown over 6,000 miles to attend COP29, generating massive carbon emissions in the process. The hypocrisy is staggering: they claim to be champions of the environment, yet they have no problem burning through fossil fuels to attend a conference in a petrostate whose exports are a majority fossil fuels. This is not about saving the planet; it’s about padding their resumes and securing future employment at the taxpayer’s expense.

The era of taxpayer-funded climate junkets must end. It’s time for the federal government to reflect the will of the American people and prioritize the interests of its workers over the demands of the climate elite. Join us in demanding accountability from our government.