The climate activist organization, Rewiring America, which has close ties to Democratic power broker Stacey Abrams, has been discovered to have quietly received over $5 million in federal taxpayer money.
This revelation came to light through recently reviewed tax documents, and it occurred before the Trump administration took steps to terminate the controversial grant earlier this year.
According to the Washington Free Beacon, these findings directly contradict Abrams's previous public statements, in which she claimed to have played a minimal or non-existent role in securing the substantial Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) payout.
Investigative reporter Paul Sperry of Real Clear Investigations noted in April, "President Trump singled out Georgia activist Stacey Abrams as someone who helped orchestrate a controversial $2 billion deal between left-wing nonprofit groups and the Environmental Protection Agency during the Biden administration."
Trump's assertion was met with skepticism and dismissal by the Washington media, with outlets such as The Washington Post claiming that Abrams' involvement in the Biden administration's green-energy initiative had been "vastly overblown" by Trump and conservative media. However, the truth of the matter, as revealed by Abrams and her partner Ari Matusiak, CEO of Rewiring America, is that they were instrumental in securing the massive grant.
During a podcast last year, Matusiak admitted to having helped "put together" the Power Forward Communities coalition to apply for and win the $2 billion grant.
Matusiak also confessed to having assisted in drafting the 2022 Biden legislation that created the $27 billion green fund, which Rewiring America and its coalition were able to tap into two years later. Despite PolitiFact's claim that Abrams is no longer associated with Rewiring, Abrams' own website states that she continues to work with the nonprofit as a senior adviser and consultant.
A timeline drawn from public records reveals how Abrams and Matusiak's efforts culminated in securing the multi-billion dollar grant from the Biden administration. In April 2024, the Biden EPA awarded a staggering $2 billion grant to Power Forward Communities, a relatively unknown nonprofit that served as the lead entity for a coalition spearheaded by Rewiring America.
Abrams held the positions of senior counsel and senior adviser to Rewiring America from March 2023 through early 2025, coinciding with the period when the grant was secured and funds were distributed.
Despite Abrams' later insistence that she had "no affiliation" with Power Forward Communities and played a negligible role in the grant process, tax filings tell a different story. Of the $9.5 million Power Forward Communities received from the EPA by the end of 2024, more than halfover $5 millionwent directly to Rewiring America.
Power Forward Communities reported no other source of revenue, suggesting it functioned as a pass-through entity designed to funnel taxpayer dollars to Abrams-linked organizations.
However, when scrutiny increased and the Trump EPA intervened, the narrative suddenly shifted. After EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin terminated the grant following investigative reporting, Power Forward Communities attempted to distance itself from Abrams entirely.
Zeldin stated, "I proudly cancelled this grant in March, citing the rampant self-dealing, conflicts of interest, unqualified recipients, and reduced government oversight. The Trump EPA refuses to light taxpayer dollars on fire, which is exactly what the Biden Administration enthusiastically did. The days of these absurd green slush funds are OVER!"
Zeldin further commented on the newly filed tax forms, stating that they demonstrate the political nature of the Biden administration's decision to award billions of dollars to Power Forward Communities.
He said, "This revelation is the latest egregious example (on top of so many we've found) of how, in rushing $20 billion out the door before President Trump took office, the Biden EPA doled out hard-earned tax dollars to unqualified recipients riddled with self-dealing and conflicts of interest, while intentionally reducing agency oversight."
The amount given to Rewiring America significantly exceeds what Power Forward Communities disbursed to other coalition members. In addition to the payments to coalition members, Power Forward Communities reported spending $2.2 million of the EPA grant to cover unspecified expenses, $726,818 of the grant on salaries for executives and other staff, and $310,500 of the grant on recruiting, among other expenses.
Zeldin concluded by stating, "Every single penny given to this Stacey Abrams-connected NGO last year was either sent to another pass-through entity or used to pay the salaries of its well-connected top officials. This is the same organization that earned only $100 in 2023 but was handed $2 BILLION in 2024 by the Biden EPA. I proudly terminated this grant and all others in the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund in March, and since then Congress repealed the program entirely. At the Trump EPA, we will always be exceptional stewards of tax dollars, with a zero tolerance policy towards any waste or abuse."
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