In a significant move, U.S. Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer announced that her department would return more than $1 billion in unspent COVID-19 relief funds to taxpayers. This decision stems from a push by the Trump administration to enhance government efficiency and eliminate waste, fraud, and misuse of resources within federal programs.
The Labor Department revealed that approximately $4.3 billion was initially allocated for temporary unemployment insurance during the pandemic. However, an audit in 2023 uncovered that some states misused these funds, resulting in over $100 million being accessed without meeting eligibility criteria, reported Fox News.
Chavez-DeRemer emphasized her commitment to safeguarding taxpayer money, stating that there is no justification for leftover COVID unemployment funds to remain unutilized. The department has taken steps to recover the remaining $2.9 billion in unspent funds, reinforcing a focus on fiscal responsibility and accountability.
Here is more of the story from Fox:
U.S. Department of Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer announced on Monday that her department will return over $1 billion in unused COVID-era funding back to the taxpayer amid the Trump administration’s push for the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to slash waste, fraud and abuse in the federal government.
In a press release, the Labor Department said $1.4 billion of unspent COVID funding will be “returned to taxpayers through the U.S. Department of Treasury’s General Fund” and added that “action” is “being taken to recover the remaining $2.9 billion.”
“The roughly $4.3 billion was intended for states to use for temporary unemployment insurance during the pandemic,” the press release states. “Instead, several states continued spending millions of dollars despite no longer meeting necessary requirements, which was uncovered in a 2023 audit conducted by the department’s Office of Inspector General.”
The department explained in the press release that the funding originated from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act in March 2020 and that the program was meant to provide expanded unemployment insurance for Americans who were not able to work during the pandemic.
Lori Chavez-DeRemer, President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Labor Department, testifies during her confirmation hearing before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill on Feb. 19, 2025. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
The program was closed in 2021, the department said, but the 2023 audit “found four states were allowed to access the funding ‘despite not meeting program requirements,’ totaling over $100 million in spending.”
“There’s no reason leftover COVID unemployment funds should still be collecting dust,” DeRemer told Fox News Digital in a statement. “I promised to look out for Americans’ hard-earned tax dollars, and we are delivering at the Department of Labor.”
“Any money still sitting around for pandemic-era unemployment funds is a clear misuse of Americans’ hard-earned tax dollars,” Chavez-DeRemer said in the press release, adding that she is “rooting out waste to ensure American Workers always come First.”
