Paul’s annual Festivus report calls out $1.6 trillion in government waste
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Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) released his 11th annual “Festivus Report,” accusing Washington of more than $1.6 trillion in wasteful spending. He says $1.22 trillion of that total is interest on the national debt and highlights quirky and controversial items – from alleged Veterans Affairs spending on ferret-related programs to $14.6 million for monkeys in a Price Is Right-style game, multimillion-dollar experiments on beagles, and an NIH study dosing puppies with cocaine. Paul praised President Trump’s 2025 cuts to USAID that cancelled $5 billion in foreign aid but called it “a drop in the bucket,” noting other examples like a $20 billion bailout for Argentina and continued global health waivers. The report frames these findings as an “Airing of (Spending) Grievances” in the Festivus tradition popularized by Seinfeld and follows last year’s report that flagged roughly $1 trillion in waste. Paul’s fiscal stance has at times put him at odds with fellow Republicans, including conflict with Trump over government shutdown votes.
Paul’s annual Festivus report calls out $1.6 trillion in government waste
Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) released his annual “Festivus Report” on Tuesday, spotlighting over $1.6 trillion in wasteful government spending.
Between discovering Veterans Affairs cash spent on teaching teenage ferrets how to binge drink to discovering $14.6 million spent on having monkeys play a Price Is Right-like video game, the Kentucky fiscal hawk bared all the quirky government waste on Tuesday.
“No matter how much taxpayer money Washington burns through, politicians can’t help but demand more. Fiscal responsibility may not be the most crowded road, but it’s one I’ve walked year after year — and this holiday season will be no different. So, before we get to the Feats of Strength, it’s time for my Airing of (Spending) Grievances,” Paul wrote in the report.
The report is a government savings spoof on the Dec. 23rd anti-commercialism, secular holiday popularized by Frank Costanza on Seinfeld. Paul’s 2025 Festivus report is his 11th edition of the spending report card.
“Congress keeps shoveling money toward pet projects and special interests while hardworking Americans pay the price through inflation and crushing interest rates – even after President [Donald] Trump took action to end most foreign aid programs,” Paul said.
After the Trump administration slashed the U.S. Agency for International Development in 2025, Paul applauded Trump’s move to cancel $5 billion in foreign aid funding, but said it was “just a drop in the bucket.”
In his 2024 report, Paul pointed to government spending on ice-skating drag queens and Ukrainian influencers that led to just over $1 trillion in waste. This year, that number boosted to $1.6 trillion, with $1.22 trillion of that being interest payments on the national debt, according to Paul.
He pointed to other projects that persisted from the 2024 report, such as $13.8 million spent on experiments involving Beagle dogs and $2 million on a National Institutes of Health experiment that doses puppies with cocaine.
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“From a $20 billion bailout for Argentina to continued funding for global health programs through waivers, Washington found new ways to keep the cash flowing. And with every new handout, the mountain of debt grows even higher,” Paul said.
The fiscal hawk ran into murky waters with his party in October, after consistently voting against bills to reopen the government shutdown due to his low government spending values. The move drew the ire of Trump, who called him “nasty liddle guy,” for voting against his party.
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