Rand Paul’s annual Festivus report on government waste set one record that will make your blood boil

Normal Americans would agree that the overwhelming majority of their tax dollars are wasted.

While some might believe this waste is debatable, most examples of government waste are abhorrent and undeniable.

And Rand Paul’s annual Festivus report on government waste set one record that will make your blood boil.

Rand Paul’s 2024 Festivus report is agonizing

Although “Festivus” was a holiday created on the TV show Seinfeld, Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) has adopted the name to air his grievances over government waste each year.

This year’s annual Festivus report is yet another one that will make your blood boil.

Paul revealed the U.S. government wasted over $1 trillion – at least – on useless “projects” in 2024 alone.

From studying turning rats into cocaine addicts to taxpayer-funded drag shows, the amount of wasted money is stomach-churning.

The over $1 trillion price tag is the highest tally from Paul’s report since President Joe Biden took office in 2021.

One example of the ire-inducing spending includes a $419,470 study from the Department of Health and Human Services to have New York University “determine if lonely rats seek cocaine more than happy rats.”

Over $2 million in taxpayer funds went to government grants given to Cornell University over the past two years.

The purpose of the grants? To infect cats with COVID-19 and then kill the innocent and tortured felines once the experiments to determine whether the animals could transmit the disease were complete. 

Paul’s report states, “Since January 2022, Dr. [Anthony] Fauci’s NIAID and the USDA have given Cornell University $2.24 million to study whether felines can contract and transmit COVID-19 . . . Not only is this a waste of over a million in taxpayer dollars, but the experiments have led to the suffering and death of over thirty cats.”

And we can’t ignore the $10,000 grant awarded to the National Endowment for the Arts for ice-skating drag queens to participate in The Bearded Ladies Cabaret.

The self-described “queer cabaret arts organization” used the grant money to support its – wait for it – climate change-themed ice-skating shows. 

The “Beards on Ice” extravaganza features “polar bears, drag queens, and a character dubbed ‘Nonbinary Parental Guardian Nature’” to bring climate awareness to those watching the performance.

Paul also noted that the NEA spent another $385,000 in federal money since 2015 on miscellaneous art displays in New York’s High Line Park, which include a $40,000 16-foot-tall pigeon sculpture.

It gets worse

Paul’s Festivus report also found that $288,563 in taxpayer dollars was spent to create “affinity groups” among bird watchers depending on “who they are and how they identify.”

The Biden State Department spent $3 million to encourage girls in Brazil to become “climate leaders.”

A section of the report called “Ghost Towns on the Government’s Dime” revealed that the federal government spent “10 billion on maintaining, leasing, and furnishing almost entirely empty buildings.”

This section is eerily reminiscent of the infamous Ghost Cities in China.

Another $5 million grant from the DHHS was awarded to study kids looking at Facebook ads about food, and another $20 million was flushed down the toilet on a “Sesame Street” show in Iraq to promote “inclusion” and “mutual respect.”

DHHS also spent $365,000 over the past several years to promote sideshows in city parks, including a recent 2024 $30,000 grant for “free” circus art performances. 

Another $12 million was spent on a pickleball complex in Las Vegas on the US taxpayer dime and against the wishes of homeowners who live nearby.

One can hope that DOGE will take over and eliminate this endless government waste, and Paul says he “will continue [his] fight against government waste this holiday season.”