A voter casts a ballot in this file photo.
A public official posted this claim on Facebook: “Stacey Abrams was given $2 billion by the Biden administration to spend on elections.”
Our rating: False.
Our “What Is True?” team flagged the post during routine monitoring for claims that could mislead the public. In reality, the $2 billion grant was awarded to a coalition of clean energy nonprofits — not to Abrams. She had no formal role in the coalition and did not receive any of the funds. Read the full fact-check below for more:
A viral claim falsely says Stacey Abrams — a Georgia politician and nationally known voting rights advocate — was given $2 billion by the Biden administration to spend on elections.
One version of the claim was recently posted publicly on Facebook by a Mississippi lawmaker, who commented: “Stacy Abram’s was given 2 billion by the Biden administration to spend on elections.” (Abrams’ name was misspelled in the original post.)
Abrams, who grew up in Gulfport, had recently returned to the Mississippi Gulf Coast to campaign for the Democratic nominee in the Gulfport mayoral election.
But there is no evidence to support the claim.
It appears to be a distortion of a real federal grant: a $2 billion award from the Environmental Protection Agency to a coalition of clean energy groups called Power Forward Communities. The group was one of three recipients of funding under the National Clean Investment Fund, which is part of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022.
Power Forward Communities includes five organizations: Rewiring America, Enterprise Community Partners, the Local Initiatives Support Corporation, United Way Worldwide and Habitat for Humanity International. Abrams served briefly as senior counsel for Rewiring America, one of the coalition members, beginning in March 2023. She had no formal role in Power Forward Communities and left Rewiring America at the end of 2024.
A spokesperson for Abrams confirmed to PolitiFact she did not receive any of the grant money. The CEO of Power Forward Communities also said Abrams was not paid by the coalition and was never intended to be.
“Stacey Abrams has not received a penny of this EPA grant,” CEO Tim Mayopoulos told Politico. “It was never the plan for her to receive any money from this grant.”
The EPA confirmed the grant was awarded through a competitive process involving expert panels and federal staff reviews. According to a recent statement, the coalition plans to upgrade 72,000 homes across the nation, create more than 64,000 jobs and generate $1.26 billion in utility bill savings over seven years.
False claims like the one targeting Abrams do more than just mislead — they erode public trust in democratic institutions. According to experts at the University of Southern California, the spread of misinformation and coordinated disinformation campaigns are generating alarming levels of doubt among voters, undermining confidence in elections and the validity of their outcomes.
In this case, public records and statements from federal agencies and the organizations involved show no evidence that Abrams received or benefited from the $2 billion EPA grant.
Editor’s Note: Roy Howard Community Journalism Center staffers contacted Rep. Becky Currie, the Mississippi lawmaker who posted the claim about Stacey Abrams, to offer an opportunity to comment. As of the time of publication, she has not responded.
This report was produced by the Roy Howard Community Journalism Center as part of its “What Is True?” fact-checking service. The center’s researchers investigate local claims to help the public separate fact from fiction. To learn more or submit a claim for review, visit rhcjcnews.com/witreq.