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.
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.’
Deputy Secretary of Labor Keith Sonderling said in a statement, ‘It’s unacceptable that billions of dollars went unchecked in a program that ended several years ago.
‘In a huge win for the American taxpayer, we’ve clawed back these unused funds and will keep working to eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse.’
The announcement comes after DeRemer said in her first memo to the department after taking over last month that she plans to comply with Trump’s executive orders and work with DOGE to eliminate waste, fraud and abuse.
‘Under the leadership of President Trump, our focus remains on promoting job creation, enhancing workforce development, and ensuring safe working conditions, wages, and pensions so that every American has the opportunity to succeed,’ DeRemer said to employees in the memo. ‘I challenge each of you to actively engage with your teams to identify innovative solutions that can help us achieve our goals.’
Chavez-DeRemer said that the Labor Department must align with the priorities of the Trump administration and ‘must focus on practicing fiscal responsibility, reducing unnecessary spending, and optimizing our resources to ensure that taxpayer dollars are utilized effectively.’
Fox News Digital’s Brooke Singman contributed to this report