Business
EPA slush fund run by progressive John Podesta gave $375B to newly created charities
MxM News
Quick Hit:
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under the Biden administration funneled $375 billion in taxpayer dollars into newly created environmental organizations, many of which lacked transparency and operational history. The massive spending effort, orchestrated by longtime Democratic operative John Podesta, is now under scrutiny, with the new EPA leadership demanding investigations and attempting to recover funds.
Key Details:
- The Biden EPA directed at least $20 billion to environmental groups that had been established only months earlier, with little oversight.
- Some of these organizations, including Climate United Fund and Justice Climate Fund, had no prior financial filings or documented leadership but received billions in taxpayer dollars.
- EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin has called for an investigation, while the DOJ and FBI have launched probes, leading to frozen bank accounts.
Diving Deeper:
The Biden administration’s rush to distribute billions in taxpayer funds to progressive environmental groups is facing intense scrutiny as new revelations expose the lack of oversight in doling out the cash. A recent New York Post investigation found that the EPA, under the direction of Democratic strategist John Podesta, sent billions to nonprofit organizations that were only recently established and had no track record of accountability.
One of the largest recipients, Climate United Fund, received nearly $7 billion from the EPA, handed over personally by then-Vice President Kamala Harris. Public records indicate the group was only incorporated in November 2023—just five months before it received the funding in April 2024. Despite its massive windfall, the organization is not listed in the IRS’s charity database, and there is no public record detailing how it intends to spend the funds.
Other groups benefiting from the EPA’s climate fund include Justice Climate Fund, which received $940 million despite having no tax filings or publicly identified leadership, and Power Forward Communities, which reported just $100 in revenue in 2023 but was awarded a staggering $2 billion. These groups claim to be working on green energy and climate justice initiatives, but watchdog groups have raised concerns over the lack of financial transparency and clear deliverables.
Brent Efron, a former EPA advisor under Biden, was caught on video admitting that the agency rushed to allocate the funds before the incoming Trump administration could step in. “Get the money out as fast as possible before they come in … it’s like we’re on the Titanic and we’re throwing gold bars off the edge,” he was recorded saying in a video released by Project Veritas.
New EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin has since stepped in, calling for an inspector general investigation into what he described as a “gold bar scheme” designed to funnel billions into left-wing environmental initiatives under the guise of green investment. Zeldin emphasized that many of the grant recipients had no qualifications to handle such enormous sums of taxpayer money and vowed to put an end to the abuse.
The Justice Department and the FBI have now launched their own probes into the questionable grants, freezing multiple bank accounts associated with the Biden-era climate fund. The lack of due diligence and the apparent political favoritism in awarding these grants have sparked bipartisan calls for accountability, with critics questioning why existing, well-established environmental organizations were bypassed in favor of newly created entities with no verifiable track record.
Quick Hit:
Apple is appealing a UK government order that could force it to create a ‘backdoor’ for authorities to access private user data. The move, pushed by Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, threatens the company’s end-to-end encryption protections. President Trump condemned the demand, comparing it to tactics used in China.
Key Details:
- Apple has lodged an appeal with the UK’s Investigatory Powers Tribunal, challenging an order that could weaken its Advanced Data Protection (ADP) encryption.
- The company previously disabled ADP in Britain rather than comply, arguing that a backdoor would compromise user security.
- UK security agencies argue that encryption helps criminals evade law enforcement, while Apple insists it will never create a ‘master key.’
Diving Deeper:
Apple is grappling with the British government over a surveillance order that could force the company to weaken its own security measures. The tech giant filed an appeal with the Investigatory Powers Tribunal, the court responsible for overseeing the UK’s surveillance laws, after Home Secretary Yvette Cooper pushed for the company to provide a ‘backdoor’ to encrypted user data.
The controversy centers around Apple’s Advanced Data Protection (ADP), an encryption system that prevents even Apple from accessing a user’s iCloud backups. In February, the company disabled ADP in the UK rather than comply with the order. Without ADP, Apple can access and hand over certain iCloud backups, such as iMessages, if legally required. However, with full end-to-end encryption enabled, even Apple cannot retrieve the data. The UK order could force Apple to rewrite its security features, something the company strongly opposes.
Apple has made it clear that it will not compromise user privacy. “We have never built a backdoor or master key to any of our products or services and never will,” the company stated. Apple also warned that creating a backdoor for law enforcement would inevitably make millions of users more vulnerable to cyberattacks.
The UK government, however, argues that such encryption hampers law enforcement investigations, particularly into crimes such as child exploitation and terrorism. A Home Office spokesperson defended the order, stating, “The UK has a longstanding position of protecting our citizens from the very worst crimes while ensuring privacy protections.”
President Donald Trump criticized the UK government’s stance, comparing it to authoritarian surveillance practices. “We told them you can’t do this… That’s something, you know, that you hear about with China,” Trump said.
The case also raises concerns about whether the UK’s actions violate the CLOUD Act, a bilateral agreement between the U.S. and the UK that limits government demands for data on foreign citizens. Reports suggest that U.S. officials are now investigating whether Britain breached this agreement by pressuring Apple to create a ‘backdoor.’
MxM News
Quick Hit:
America’s manufacturing sector is roaring back under President Donald Trump, reversing the steep job losses of the Biden era. February’s jobs report shows a surge in auto industry hiring, a major turnaround from Biden’s final year in office. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt credited Trump’s pro-growth policies, declaring, “The American economy is soaring back to greatness.”
Key Details:
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The U.S. added 10,000 manufacturing jobs in February, a sharp reversal from Biden’s final year, which saw an average loss of 9,000 per month.
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The auto industry gained 8,900 jobs, the highest increase in 15 months, after shedding 27,300 jobs under Biden in 2023.
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Private sector job growth accounted for 93% of February’s gains, showing strong business confidence in Trump’s economic policies.
Diving Deeper:
America’s manufacturing sector is making a swift comeback under President Donald Trump, with February’s jobs report showing significant growth in the industry. The sharp turnaround follows a year of manufacturing decline under Joe Biden, who oversaw the loss of 111,000 jobs in the sector.
The auto industry has been a major driver of this resurgence, adding nearly 9,000 jobs in February—the most in over a year. This growth stands in stark contrast to 2023 when the sector shed tens of thousands of jobs under Biden’s economic policies. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt credited Trump’s leadership, stating, “The American economy is soaring back to greatness after the economic calamity left by Joe Biden.”
Economic confidence is also on the rise. S&P Global’s U.S. manufacturing survey reached its highest level since mid-2022, while the Manufacturing ISM Report on Business entered expansion territory after more than two years of contraction. These indicators suggest businesses are ramping up production, hiring workers, and responding favorably to Trump’s economic agenda.
With private sector growth leading the way and key economic indicators showing strength, the Trump Administration is setting the stage for continued economic momentum. As White House put it, “President Trump is just getting started.”
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