Podesta’s testimony defended green energy industry, which he directed billions to as Biden WH official
John Podesta—the Democratic operative who oversaw former president Joe Biden’s climate agenda and steered billions of taxpayer dollars to green energy interests—testified for two hours in federal court on Tuesday as an “expert witness” in support of 22 children alleging that the Trump administration has violated their constitutional right to life by pursuing policies friendly to oil, gas, and coal.
Podesta argued the court should block the federal government from implementing President Donald Trump’s energy-related executive orders, according to a spokeswoman for Montana attorney general Austin Knudsen, who is intervening in the case. That includes orders protecting the coal industry, encouraging oil drilling, eliminating electric vehicle mandates, reversing crackdowns on gas-powered appliances, and terminating all Green New Deal-style policies.
Podesta’s testimony initially focused on how executive orders are crafted and implemented. It became more partisan from there. Podesta suggested Trump’s orders are illegal, took personal digs at Trump, and blasted recent federal policies benefiting the oil industry.
“During my years of service in the federal government, different administrations expressed different preferences in terms of energy mixes. But I am unaware of any administration ever declaring war on renewable energy the way the second Trump administration has done. That is truly unprecedented,” Podesta wrote in a declaration before the hearing. “This administration is choosing fossil fuels and their pollution and promoting false facts over the truth.”
The Oregon-based left-wing nonprofit Our Children’s Trust filed the lawsuit in a Montana federal district court on behalf of the 22 youth plaintiffs in May 2025. If successful, the case could wipe out the executive orders that have served as the centerpiece of Trump’s energy agenda and thus dismantle Trump’s efforts to boost energy production and roll back policies favoring the green energy industry.
According to plaintiffs, Trump’s executive orders violate their Fifth Amendment rights to life and liberty by worsening pollution that threatens their health and futures. And they say the actions escalate “climate-related dangers,” which infringes upon their rights to personal security. “Trump’s fossil fuel orders are a death sentence for my generation,” said lead plaintiff Eva Lighthiser, a 19-year-old hiker who says global warming causes her “stress and anxiety.”
Podesta’s involvement in the case is a remarkable attempt to thwart that agenda. While some Biden administration officials have criticized Trump’s energy policies, none have taken such direct action. It also puts a spotlight on Podesta’s past actions promoting the green energy industry, both as Biden’s green energy czar and as a nonprofit leader.
Podesta joined the Biden administration in September 2022 to manage the roughly $375 billion in grants, loans, and rebates that Democrats earmarked for green energy and climate programs under the Inflation Reduction Act.
In that role, Podesta helped dole out $20 billion to eight climate nonprofits, $7 billion for solar panel installation projects, $3 billion to fund green energy equipment at U.S. ports, $2 billion for environmental justice initiatives, and hundreds of millions of dollars for school districts to buy electric buses. During that time, the Biden Department of Energy also issued $108 billion in loans for green energy projects, including electric vehicle battery and solar panel factories.
Outside of government, Podesta founded and chairs the Center for American Progress, which has advocated for progressive climate policies. Prominent far-left grantmakers that have backed efforts to shut down oil and gas in favor of green energy—such as George Soros’s Open Society Foundations, the Rockefeller Foundation, Sea Change Foundation, Bloomberg Philanthropies, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation—provide funding to the center.
In addition, Swiss billionaire Hansjörg Wyss has given millions of dollars to the center and serves on its board of directors. Wyss backs some of the most powerful climate groups in the U.S., including the League of Conservation Voters and Climate Power.
Green energy interests have also paid Podesta tens of thousands of dollars for consulting work in recent years, according to financial disclosures previously reviewed by the Washington Free Beacon.
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