Energy Secretary Granholm’s 4 Junkets in 5 Months to Puerto Rico Spark GOP Demands for Justification

Is Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm neglecting her duties? House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.) and Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations Chairman Morgan Griffith (R-Va.) are demanding answers. They want to know why Granholm has taken four tax-paid trips to Puerto Rico in just five months. The frequency and duration of these trips raise concerns about her attention to other duties, especially with rising energy costs and threats to America’s energy independence.

McMorris Rodgers and Griffith wrote a letter to Granholm on April 24, questioning the necessity of her frequent and extended presence in Puerto Rico. They also pointed out that Granholm prioritized visits to international locations before finally visiting the Hanford site, one of the most costly and challenging cleanup sites in her agency’s Office of Environmental Management complex.

The lawmakers also cited a recent news report in The Washington Free Beacon that quoted an unnamed former Department of Energy (DOE) official who said, “This trip will easily cost the taxpayers tens of thousands of dollars between the advance teams, security, support staff, and more.”

McMorris Rodgers and Griffith are demanding copies of all documents related to Granholm’s multiple trips to Puerto Rico and other overseas locations. They want an itemized list of all expenses, lists of DOE staff members involved in planning and executing the trips, itineraries for all of the trips, and minutes for all official events Granholm attended in connection with all of the trips.

Granholm has made rebuilding Puerto Rico’s power infrastructure a top priority, but McMorris Rodgers and Griffith are questioning whether her frequent trips are necessary. With the American people paying the price for the administration’s failed energy policies, they believe Granholm should be focusing on her duties at home. A spokesman for Granholm did not respond to The Epoch Times’ request for comment on the letter from McMorris Rodgers and Griffith.

Stay tuned for updates on this developing story.