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Dear Friend –

Should taxpayer dollars be spent on government swag, coloring books, and costumed mascots?

Let me know what you think:

Misbehaving Bureaucrats Spending Billions Refurbishing Bad Reputations 

It’s no surprise barely one-in-five Americans trust the federal government “to do the right thing.” Americans of all political stripes overwhelmingly support President Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) initiative to streamline and downsize government and make it more responsive to the people. As the head of the Senate DOGE caucus, I’m continuing to shine a light on government waste and make ‘em squeal.

I’ve long noticed, bureaucrats are spending billions of taxpayer dollars trying to rebrand their agencies and refurbish the reputation caused by their bad behavior.

For example, under President Biden:

• FEMA was caught withholding disaster assistance from hurricane victims who supported President Trump.
• Thousands of IRS employees evaded taxes while the agency increased audits on middle-class taxpayers.
• Calls to government agencies went unanswered as bureaucrats “working” remotely, phoned it in from beaches and bubble baths.

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) told us years ago, the government’s pricey public relations (PR) and advertising campaigns collectively cost taxpayers more than $1.5 billion every single year.

A group of journalists mined government data to report that since 2018, federal advertising dollars alone have doubled to $1.8 billion a year.

While these marketing efforts do include some legitimate activities, like recruiting for the U.S. Armed Forces and alerting the public to potential health or safety threats, much of it is purely propaganda with little or no value for taxpayers.

Misbehaving bureaucrats will do anything but their jobs — including spending billions on propaganda, mascots, and swag—to gaslight the public into believing the government is working on their behalf.

Well folks, you can put lipstick on a pig, but it’s still a pig. And the best PR is doing a good job!

 I have plenty of new examples of waste being disguised in costumes, coloring books, and even graphic novels—what we in Iowa call comic books—designed to improve the image of agencies.

Enough with Government Swag, Mascots, & Coloring Books:

Tote gift bags, life-size teddy bear costumes, and coloring books are something folks might expect in a kindergarten classroom. But it’s not kids, it’s bureaucrats spending like kids to create, design, and hand out swag, coloring books, and play dress up on the taxpayers’ dimes.

Taxpayer-funded Coloring Books…from DHS?

In 2022, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released millions of illegal immigrants into the interior of the United States, including hundreds of thousands of children, who are currently lost in the system, and possibly in grave harm.

Instead of using every resource available to secure our border and track down these missing children, DHS bureaucrats used time and energy to release a coloring book for the children of DHS employees.

One DHS coloring book image shows an ICE agent looking into the distance, at an open border wall, with what looks like three doves flying overhead.

This bizarre coloring book page perfectly encapsulates the Biden border policy: having ICE bird watching instead of securing the wide-open border.

Our DOGE team has our red markers out to mark out government waste—even if we have to color outside the lines!

Costume Party?

It’s not Halloween, but there are a lot of federally funded costumes walking around. Just a sample:

Playing Dress Up on the Southern Border?

We all know Smokey Bear, but I bet you’ve never heard of the other agency-sponsored mascots playing dress up.

We tracked Agent Teddy to the southern border, where the U.S. Customs and Border Protection has a belly-showing, giant teddy bear parading around, while the open-border policies of the Biden administration put our nation in danger. Agent Teddy’s dancing bear antics are not a serious approach to dealing with our border crisis.

Mission Creep?

While invasive species can be a real threat, I’m asking how much the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service spent on its creepy bug mascot known as “Vin Vasive.” Seems like bureaucratic waste is invading our agencies and leading to mission creep! 

Mint Condition?

Lest you think that the U.S. Mint just prints our money, boy, they can spend it, too. Years ago, I highlighted the Mighty Minters Eli and Layla, though it’s not clear if they’ve retired and hung up these mighty costumes with “U.S. Mint” printed across the front, or if they are still in use.

Oink! is right

Speaking of squealing, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which frustrated millions of Americans with their pandemic unpreparedness, is putting out updates of CDC graphic novels, complete with pig stories!

CDC bureaucrats were writing comic books when they should have been preparing for a pandemic. Post pandemic CDC is still at it, writing “2.0” graphic novel updates, about the life of a pig named Hamlet. 

We agree on this much, the pigs are feeding at Washington’s trough, and the noise taxpayers hear, like this CDC Hamlet illustration, is “Oink!"

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Whether it’s FEMA encouraging kids to Chill Out with “Pedro” the penguin, or spending money intended to prepare for wildfires with a “disaster preparedness activity book,” Washington needs to bag the swag and focus on accomplishing the missions for which they exist.

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So, to start the new year off, I am giving my January 2025 Squeal Award to the Washington bureaucrats who are more focused on promoting themselves than the best interest of taxpayers.

I am also introducing the Stop Wasteful Advertising by the Government (SWAG) Act to end unnecessary spending on government propaganda and taxpayer-funded trinkets and mascots.

Squeal Award: Washington Bureaucrats

For more updates on what's happening in Washington, D.C. and Iowa, be sure to 'Like' my Facebook page, follow me on Twitter and Instagram @SenJoniErnst, and subscribe to my YouTube channel.

Thank you!