Probe Launched Into Granholm's Electric Car Jaunt

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., and Rep. Pat Fallon, R-Texas, on Tuesday announced a probe of Department of Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm's electric vehicle road trip this summer.

"The trip consisted of the Secretary and DOE staff traveling across multiple states and was 'intended to draw attention to the billions of dollars the White House is pouring into green energy and clean cars,'" the Oversight Committee posted on X. "Instead, it led to a Georgia family traveling on a hot day with an infant and a low charge on their EV battery to call 911 out of urgency as DOE employees used a non-EV car to 'hold' a charger for the incoming Energy Secretary because of limited, slow, and nonworking EV chargers along the route. This comes as the Biden Administration continues its attempt to force a radical increase in EVs on America's roads."

Comer and Fallon on Tuesday sent a letter to Granholm requesting documents and communications to "understand the purposes, costs, and consequences" of the secretary's trip.

"We are alarmed by recent reports of your four-day summer 2023 electric vehicle (EV) road trip apparently intended to showcase the Biden Administration's progress in achieving a radical green agenda," the lawmakers wrote. "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.

"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."

The 911 call made by the frustrated Georgia family was obtained by Fox News two weeks ago.

"I'm calling because I'm in the Grovetown Walmart at the charging station and there's literally a non-electric car that is taking up a space and said they're holding the space for somebody else," the woman told the dispatcher in the recording. "And it's holding up a whole bunch of people who need to charge their cars.

"There are other people who are waiting to charge and they're still here and they're not in electric cars," the caller continued. "The sign says you can't park here unless you're charging."

The dispatcher then told the woman that a deputy was on the way.

The Oversight Committee is investigating the impact of the Biden administration's aggressive push for electric vehicles and attempt to impose sweeping new regulations on "traditional cars, trucks, other highway vehicles and locomotives."

According to estimates from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the administration's new proposed rules would require that electric vehicles make up 67% of all new car sales by 2032.

In a release, the committee said the accelerated adoption of electric vehicles isn't without drawbacks, noting the risk to the already strained electricity grid and supply chain, as well as the removal of consumer choice.