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Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) released his annual Festivus report on the more than $1 trillion in government waste, including millions spent on ice-skating drag queens, a Sesame Street show in Iraq, Ukrainian influencers and more.

“This year, I am highlighting a whopping $1,008,313,329,626.12. That’s over $1 trillion in government waste, including things like ice-skating drag queens, a $12 Million Las Vegas pickleball complex, $4,840,082 on Ukrainian influencers, and more! No matter how much money the government has wasted, politicians keep demanding even more,” Rand Paul said.

“As always, taking the path to fiscal responsibility is often a lonely journey, but I’ve been fighting government waste like DOGE before DOGE was cool. And I will continue my fight against government waste this holiday season.

Here’s the full list of projects:

  • Ghost Towns on the Government’s Dime: The federal government spent $10 billion on maintaining, leasing, and furnishing almost entirely empty buildings
  • A Pandemic Plunder: A Florida man stole $8 million in COVID-19 Relief funds to buy an island and more
  • Your Tax Dollars at Play: The Department of the Interior (DOI) spent $12 Million on a Las Vegas Pickleball Complex
  • Taxpayers Fund a Disinformation Index: The Department of State (DOS) wasted $330,000 to fund censorship of nonliberal and conservative media
  • Snack Attack: The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) awarded a $2 million grant to study kids looking at Facebook ads about food
  • Taxpayers Dollars Down the Drain in Nevis: The Department of State (DOS) spent $108,272 on a non-functioning hotel
  • Direct File Fail: Congress spent $15 million to turn the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) into an unconstitutional force to prepare, file, and audit your hard-earned money
  • Oh Rats! HHS Spends Nearly Half a Million on a Depressing Study of Lonely, Starved Rats: The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) spent $419,470 to determine if lonely rats seek cocaine more than happy rats
  • Hold on to Your Steering Wheels: The Department of Energy (DOE) spent $15.5 billion to push Americans toward electric vehicles they don’t want
  • The Influencer Effect Hits Foreign Policy: The Department of State (DOS) squandered $4,840,082 on influencers
  • Cirque du Taxpayer: The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) spent $365,000 to promote circuses in city parks
  • Girls Just Wanna Have Funds: The Department of State (DOS) spent $3 Million for ‘Girl-Centered Climate Action’ in Brazil
  • A State Department Production Featuring Your Hard-Earned Money: The Department of State (DOS) paid the Royal
  • Film Commission $873,584 for movies in Jordan
  • Goalposts and Grandstanding: The Department of State (DOS) spent $345,434 on football engagement to counter terrorism
  • When Bailouts Go Bust: The United States Department of the Treasury (USDT) granted a failed trucking company a $700 million pandemic-era loan
  • Flocking Together! DEI Takes Flight: The National Science Foundation (NSF) spent $288,563 to ensure bird watching groups have safe spaces aka “Affinity Groups”
  • Interest-ingly Wasteful: Americans are paying $892 billion in fiscal year 2024 on the interest on Uncle Sam’s Credit Card
  • Hashtag to Handouts in Ethiopia: The Department of State (DOS) spent $500,000 to expand the U.S. Embassy in Ethiopia’s #USInvestsInEthiopians social media campaign to a larger national public relations campaign
  • Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo, There Goes Your Tax Dollars Too! The federal government spent $7,026,689 on various magical projects
  • Because Who Needs a Secure U.S. Border, Anyway? The Department of State (DOS) spent $2.1 million for Paraguayan Border Security
  • The High Price of High Line Art: Since 2015 the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) has awarded $385,000 for art
    displays on the High Line
  • Money to Manure: The Department of Agriculture (USDA) is spending $20 million on the Fertilize Right Initiative to advance
    fertilizer use in Pakistan, Vietnam, Colombia, and Brazil
  • Fauci Funded Feline COVID Experiments: The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) spent $2.24 million on COVID experiments
    Going Viral for World Peace: The Department of State (DOS) is spending $123,066 to teach Kyrgyzstan youth how to go viral
    Spinning Kittens for Science and Motion Sickness: The National Institutes of Health (NIH) spent $1,513,299 on a study
    of waste and cruelty
  • Cat-Stipated?: The Department of Defense (DOD) spent $10,851,439 on Orwellian cat experiments
  • More Ducking Waste in Mexico: The Department of the Interior (DOI) spent $720,479 on wetland conservation projects for
    ducks in Mexico
  • Big Bird Goes to Baghdad: The Agency for International Development (USAID) is spending $20 million on “Ahlan Simsim”
    a new Sesame Street show in Iraq
  • News We Wish Was Fake: The Department of State (DOS) sent $253,653 to Bosnia to fight “misinformation”
  • Abandon Ship: The Navy Sinks Billions on LCS Vessels: The U.S. Navy is set to waste almost $90 billion on ineffective Navy vessels
  • Dragging Tax Dollars onto Thin Ice: The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) awarded the Bearded Ladies Cabaret a $10,000 grant to support a cabaret show on ice skates focused on climate change
  • Taxpayers Get Spun: The Department of State (DOS) allocated $32,596.12 for breakdancing