Alligator Alcatraz Was Built on Secrecy, Expansive Emergency Powers, and an Unprecedented State Power Grab
Shadowy deals and unilateral powers created Florida's notorious immigration detention camp.
Government Waste
The White House Just Defunded a Federal Watchdog
The decision to close two federal watchdog agencies has drawn criticism from a pair of Republican senators.
Mamdani's Fare-Free Buses Wouldn't Be NYC's First Wasteful Public Transit Boondoggle
A previous pilot program found free access slowed down buses in New York City, which already has the slowest buses in the nation.
Department of Veterans Affairs
In 16 Years, the V.A. Turned This $450 Million Hospital Project Into a $1.6 Billion Boondoggle
What began as a simple hospital project has become yet another example of bureaucratic failure at the Department of Veterans Affairs
Florida Applies for Federal Reimbursement for 'Alligator Alcatraz' Costs Despite Court Warning
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis promised that the federal government would reimburse the state for the costs of "Alligator Alcatraz," but doing so would make the detention facility subject to environmental reviews Florida ignored.
Before Trump Had Elon Musk, Nixon Had Howard Phillips
Nixon's director of the Office of Economic Opportunity set out to shrink government, mostly failed, and was gone in less than a year. Sound familiar?
$500 Million To Paint the Border Wall? 5 of Trump's Strangest, Most Expensive Vanity Projects
Donald Trump is no stranger to wasteful spending. But these examples are especially egregious.
ICE's Tricked-Out Trucks Might Boost Recruitment, but They Won't Make America Any Safer
The agency has spent millions of taxpayer dollars on custom SUVs, trucks, and recruitment ads.
Congress Spent At Least $27,500 on Poster Displays in 2 Months. Here Are 4 Ridiculous Examples and 1 Good One.
It's a drop in the bucket compared to the national debt, but any wasteful government spending should be eliminated.
Media Outlets Shouldn't Get Public Funds, No Matter Their Political Bias
It shouldn't matter whether NPR leans right or left. Cutting its federal funding was the right move.
If Trump Wants American Businesses To Thrive, He Should Get Rid of Government Subsidies
Federal subsidies undermine American companies, breed dependency, and stifle competition.
Did USAID Really Save 90 Million Lives? Not Unless It Raised the Dead
A Lancet study’s inflated numbers are being used to push a partisan narrative, not inform public policy.
The CEO of NPR Made the Best Case for Defunding It
The notion that NPR can somehow become unbiased is about as believable as the IRS sending you a fruit basket to commend you for filing your taxes.
The Trump Administration Is Spending $130,000 To Burn $800,000 Worth of Food Meant for Hungry Children
If the president truly cares about cutting waste, he should not be paying to set taxpayer dollars on fire.
NASA Gets a $10 Billion Windfall From the 'Big Beautiful Bill'
Rather than reducing government's role in space travel, the bills shovels more taxpayer money into an agency that is being outperformed by the private sector.
Taxpayers Are Supposed To Shell Out $150 Million for Next Year's July 4th Celebrations
Yet another wasteful expense in the "big, beautiful bill."
The $4 Trillion 'Big, Beautiful Bill' Breaks the Bank and Violates Congress' Own Budget Rules
This is what Washington calls compromise: The House proposes $1, the Senate proposes $2, and somehow, the government ends up spending $3.
Add It to the Tab
Plus: Trade deal with Vietnam, Romanian right-wing presidential candidate sent to trial, and more...
Why Do Republicans Support the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit?
Publicly funded homes in some cities are costing taxpayers more than $1 million per unit, but Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” would increase funding for these inefficient projects.
Trump's Immigration Crackdown Is Overwhelming ICE Facilities and Running Up Huge Bills
The cost of Trump's immigration crackdown keeps going up.
Some Federal Agencies Are Actually Getting More Efficient
Downsizing pushed the Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau to adopt tech solutions that it could have tried years ago.
Trump's 'Big, Beautiful' Military Parade Is a Big, Ugly Waste of Millions of Dollars
Most Americans, it turns out, do not think it is a good use of taxpayer money, according to a recent poll.
Here Are 3 Reasons Why the 'Big Beautiful Bill' Won't Generate 3 Percent Growth
The White House is promising higher growth, but tariffs, borrowing, and rising interest rates will be a drag on those expectations.
The 5 Worst Green Energy Projects Funded by Biden
From financing eminent domain abuses in Tennessee to climate-friendly ketchup, the Biden administration approved billions of dollars in wasteful spending.
3 Terrible Companies To Lose $5 Billion in Federal Green Energy Loans
One of the recipients has filed for bankruptcy after allegedly scamming elderly clients.
New York's Biggest Budget Doubles Down on the Mistakes Driving People Out
Lawmakers passed the largest spending plan in state history, pushing costs higher without delivering results.
Elon Musk Discovers That Serious Spending Cuts Are 'Really Difficult'
As he shifts his focus away from DOGE, he acknowledges the need for hard choices and congressional action.
Trump Wants To Increase Military Spending by $113 Billion
The president wants to develop the F-47 fighter jet 60 years before the F-35 is scheduled to retire.
AI Bots in California Steal Over $10 Million in Federal Financial Aid
A scam that uses AI to “enroll” in community colleges to pocket student aid has skyrocketed in the Golden State and across the nation.
DOGE Has Been a Smashing Success
When compared to the most likely alternatives, DOGE has cut as much government as one could hope for.
In 12 Years, This $40 Billion High-Speed Rail Line in Texas Has Not Laid a Single Foot of Track
The budget for the project has quadrupled, and private property owners have opposed the use of eminent domain along the proposed 240-mile route.
Even by Elon Musk's Own Demonstrably Unreliable Estimation, DOGE Will Fall Far Short of His Target
The cost cutter's current projection of annual "savings" is 85 percent lower than the goal he set two months ago—and even that number can't be trusted.
Federal Energy Tax Credits Will Cost More Than $4 Trillion. Lawmakers Might Not Cut Them.
Republican members of Congress are lobbying to keep the Inflation Reduction Act's tax credits alive.
Biden Rushed Out Billions for Green Energy Projects Before Trump Took Office
The outgoing administration shoveled out loans for projects that private lenders wouldn't fund.
The House's Budget Bill Cuts Earmarks, but Spending Will Be Going Up Anyway
Every cut helps, but that's not where the money is.
We're Overdue To End Daylight Saving Time
The government experiment in socially engineering the country into less energy use raised costs.
Yes, Cutting Government Waste Is Important
Entitlements are a much bigger expense, but that doesn't mean the waste doesn't matter.
Contrary to What Trump Said, Even DOGE Does Not Claim To Have Identified 'Hundreds of Billions' in Fraud
The president's assertion is divorced from reality, and so are the "estimated savings" touted by Elon Musk.
The Best Part of Trump's Speech Was the List of Spending Cuts
If only they were as big as the list of new spending.
The Sunny Side of Donald Trump's Power Grabs
The president is positioning himself to have much greater control over a smaller, enfeebled federal bureaucracy.
To Cut Government Spending, Trump Targets Pocket Change
The penny is expensive to produce and has long outlived its usefulness.
Rand Paul Wants DOGE To Build a $500 Billion Rescission Package for Congress To Approve
"The only way you get less waste is to give them less money to spend," says the libertarian-adjacent senator from Kentucky.
Social Security's Insolvency Is Driven by Benefits for the Living, Not Fraud by the Dead
Elon Musk claims to have uncovered massive fraud within Social Security, but those data are already well known and not a major problem.
DOGE Needs Data To Survive. These Lawsuits Are Trying To Starve It of Information.
Nearly a dozen lawsuits allege that DOGE's access to government payment and personnel systems violates a litany of federal privacy and record-handling laws.
Why Is Foreign Aid Going To American Farmers?
Subsidizing American farmers is not a valid justification for the U.S. Agency for International Development.
DOGE Begins Publishing Data After Transparency Complaints
After Elon Musk promised "maximum transparency," the DOGE's website posted organizational charts of federal agencies and statistics on the federal work force.
