Rand Paul Airs Spending Grievances in "Festivus" Tradition

Senator Rand Paul released his annual “Festivus Report” on Tuesday, accusing the federal government of wasting more than $1.6 trillion on what he described as absurd, low-priority programs, while the national debt continues to climb toward $40 trillion.

The Kentucky Republican’s eleventh edition of the report catalogs spending ranging from COVID-19 vaccine influencer campaigns to animal drug experiments and ballooning interest payments on federal debt. Paul framed the report as an annual “airing of spending grievances,” arguing that Congress remains incapable of curbing its appetite for spending despite frequent rhetoric about fiscal responsibility.

According to the report, federal debt has surged from roughly $36 trillion to nearly $40 trillion in the past year. Paul warned that interest payments alone now total more than $1.2 trillion annually, calling them a crushing burden on taxpayers. He cited estimates that the government is adding billions of dollars in new debt every day, every hour, and even every second.

Paul acknowledged recent efforts by the Trump administration to cut spending, including a rescissions package targeting public broadcasting and some foreign aid, but dismissed those moves as insufficient. “It’s a good start,” he said, “but it’s just a drop in the bucket.”

Among the spending highlighted in the report are more than $40 million spent on social media influencers to promote COVID-19 vaccines to minority communities, over $5 million on experiments involving dosing dogs with cocaine, and additional funding for studies involving binge-drinking ferrets and monkeys playing game-show-style tasks. The report also flagged millions spent on continued experiments involving beagles.

Paul also criticized pandemic-era spending that continues to ripple through government budgets. He noted that schools received nearly $200 billion in COVID-19 relief funds, some of which has reportedly gone toward non-educational expenses such as luxury hotel stays, sports venue rentals, and entertainment services.

Other examples cited include billions allocated for electric vehicle charging infrastructure, which Paul said has yielded only a handful of operational stations so far, as well as funding for diversity programs, celebrity-driven anti-drug campaigns, and research projects he characterized as frivolous.

Paul said the report is meant to underscore what he views as Washington’s failure to set priorities or confront the long-term consequences of unchecked borrowing. “No matter how much taxpayer money Washington burns through,” he said, “politicians can’t help but demand more.”