A pro-Green New Deal coalition endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris just months after a nonprofit on its steering committee was awarded a $50 million grant from the Biden administration.
The Green New Deal Network (GNDN) — a coalition that lobbies for a quick transition away from fossil fuels and a transformation of American society “to be economically, racially, and socially equitable for all” — endorsed Harris on Wednesday, according to Inside Climate News. The Climate Justice Alliance (CJA), a hardline left-wing climate group, sits on the GNDN’s steering committee and was named as a recipient of a $50 million grant from an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) “environmental justice” program in December 2023.
Specifically, CJA will distribute the $50 million to other organizations pursuing “environmental justice”-related initiatives as part of the EPA program. Beyond its radical views on climate and energy, which include ending fossil fuels and nuclear power, CJA also believes that “the path to climate justice travels through a free Palestine” and has numerous pro-Palestine protest placards on its website that feature convicted cop killer Assata Shakur as well as advocate for prison abolition and defunding the police.
EPA Chief Insists His Agency Has Not Sent ‘One Dime’ To Hardline Left-Wing Org — But There’s A $50 Million Problemhttps://t.co/BXjlAkuWup
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“The Green New Deal Network organization has not received any money from the [Inflation Reduction Act],” a GNDN spokesperson told the Daily Caller News Foundation after publication. CJA is a 501(c)(3) organization that does not endorse political campaigns, and GNDN “[operates] through a voting system in [501(c)(3)] and [501(c)(4)] decisions, so the position of the GNDN coalition does not necessarily reflect the position of our members,” the spokesperson added.
However, the GNDN press release announcing the endorsement makes no such distinction and even features the CJA logo. Within the last few days, CJA posted on its website that it does not endorse candidates, but it’s unclear how they can take such a stance while on the steering committee of an organization that does make endorsements.
Republican lawmakers have raised concerns about the EPA program and CJA specifically in recent months, charging broadly that recipients of taxpayer cash like and including CJA may be too partisan to be trusted as stewards of public funds. Notably, EPA Administrator Michael Regan told Congress earlier in July that his agency has not sent “one dime” to CJA, despite the group being named explicitly as a recipient on the EPA’s website and press releases.
The activist group and other grantees are expected to open up sub-grant competitions and begin distributing funds to other entities by the fall of this year, according to the EPA.
Other groups on the GNDN’s steering committee include the Sunrise Movement, the Movement for Black Lives and the Grassroots Global Justice Alliance, according to GNDN’s website. The GNDN did not endorse President Joe Biden in the 2024 cycle before he decided to quit the race amid a pressure campaign from top Democratic donors and congressional leadership, according to Inside Climate News.
The EPA, Harris campaign and CJA did not respond immediately to requests for comment.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to include comment from the Green New Deal Network and to clarify the Climate Justice Alliance’s position in the coalition.
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