Senator Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) is fed up with Washington’s annual “Christmas in September” spending spree, and she’s not mincing words about it. Armed with her farm-grown common sense and a sharp eye for government waste, Ernst is on a mission to root out the pork barrel nonsense that’s bleeding taxpayers dry.
“In Washington, Christmas comes in September when binge-buying bureaucrats go hog wild fulfilling their own wish lists,” Ernst declared in a letter to Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, co-heads of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), an external watchdog created to slash government waste. Ernst backed up her statement with some jaw-dropping examples, including $53 billion splurged in a single week before the fiscal year ended—a spree that included $4.6 million on lobster tails, $12,000 for a foosball table, and $2.1 million for games and toys.
“For the sake of taxpayers, DOGE needs to be the Grinch,” Ernst proclaimed.
This isn’t Ernst’s first rodeo when it comes to tackling waste. Back in 2014, she made waves with her campaign promise to “make ’em squeal,” drawing on her childhood experience castrating hogs. Now as head of the Senate DOGE Caucus, Ernst is teaming up with Musk, Ramaswamy, and President-elect Donald Trump to make good on that promise.
Her plan, unveiled after a meeting at Mar-a-Lago, features a blueprint to cut out the bloat. Targets include the Presidential Election Campaign Fund, which gave $1 million to Mike Pence’s campaign and $380,000 to Green Party darling Jill Stein. Ernst also called out the $1.5 billion wasted on “swag” across federal agencies and the $31 million spent annually on federal employees being paid to do nothing.
Even the Pentagon isn’t safe from Ernst’s scalpel. The Defense Department has failed seven consecutive audits and admits to losing $125 billion to inefficiency and bloat annually. Ernst also flagged $213.3 million in unemployment benefits paid to nearly 15,000 millionaires, $8 billion wasted on vacant government buildings, and absurd grants like researching whether elephants can solve puzzles.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) is joining the fight in the House, leading a subcommittee to bolster DOGE’s work.
This effort by Ernst is more than a crackdown on waste; it’s a long-overdue wake-up call. For decades, Washington Democrats have treated taxpayer dollars like Monopoly money, funding ridiculous projects while ordinary Americans tighten their belts. Ernst’s no-nonsense approach is exactly what’s needed to clean up the swamp.
While the left obsesses over “equity” and bureaucratic pet projects, Ernst and her team are laser-focused on accountability. With Musk and Ramaswamy in the mix, there’s real hope for a government that runs like a well-oiled machine instead of a bloated bureaucracy.
It’s time to remind Washington that taxpayers aren’t an endless ATM. If the left could channel even half the energy they spend on their climate hysteria into fixing this waste, the federal budget might actually resemble something other than a bad joke. But until that day comes, thank goodness for leaders like Ernst who know how to make the squealing stop.
