The Department of Energy’s internal watchdog is accusing the agency of allowing travel expenses to exceed federal budget standards during Secretary Jennifer Granholm’s 2023 electric vehicle road trip — findings that officials are disputing.
A report circulated Wednesday from the inspector general found the agency went over budget for the trip and allowed officials to stay at hotels with prices exceeding per-person allowances.
“We determined that 36 of the 42 travel vouchers (86 percent) contained lodging expenses that exceeded Government per diem rates,” said a summary of the report. “Additionally, we identified seven travel vouchers for which travel expenses exceeded 15 percent of the authorized cost.”
But the department’s leadership argued it worked to follow federal travel rules and that Cabinet-level trips require flexibility to manage.
