Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) released his annual “Festivus” report on Monday, revealing over $1 trillion in wasteful government spending over the past year. The report highlights a variety of questionable expenditures, from a pickleball complex in Las Vegas to a cabaret show on ice skates focused on climate change.
“This year, I am highlighting a whopping $1,008,313,329,626.12,” Paul wrote in the report. “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!”
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Among the examples of wasteful spending cited in the report:
- $12 million for a Las Vegas Pickleball Complex funded by the Department of the Interior.
- $720,479 spent on wetland conservation projects for ducks in Mexico, also by the Department of the Interior.
- $10,000 awarded by the National Endowment for the Arts to the Bearded Ladies Cabaret for a climate change-themed show on ice skates.
- $365,000 spent by the NEA to promote circuses in city parks.
- $500,000 allocated by the State Department to expand a social media campaign in Ethiopia.
- $253,653 sent to Bosnia to fight “misinformation” by the State Department.
- $419,470 spent by the Department of Health and Human Services to study the effects ofloneliness and cocaine on rats.
- $288,563 used by the National Science Foundation to ensure “safe spaces” for bird watching groups.
Paul has been a vocal critic of government waste for years, and his annual “Festivus” report has become a tradition for highlighting questionable spending practices.
This year’s report comes as many Americans are struggling with high inflation and economic uncertainty.
“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, Paul said. “And I will continue my fight against government waste this holiday season.”
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