|
Dear Friend –
Should you be on the hook for projects that are $1 BILLION over budget?
Let me know what you think:
Bringing Boondoggles to a Squealing Halt
Do you hear that, folks?
That’s the sound of California’s gravy train coming to a squealing halt.
The rail project is about $100 billion over budget. It was supposed to be completed five years ago, but not even a single track has been laid yet.
I’ve been railing against this train to nowhere since 2019 and President Trump just slammed the brakes on it. That’s right, the California crazy train will no longer be choo choo chewing up taxpayer money. We’re taking back the billions of taxpayer dollars put on board this runaway train by the Biden administration.
The California High-Speed Rail is going nowhere fast.
For too long, taxpayers have been taken for a ride by budget busting boondoggles that keep costing more, but never seem to reach the end of the line.
Well folks, it’s a new era in Washington.
Not convinced?
In February, I highlighted the fact that the Coast Guard’s new patrol cutters were essentially lost at sea, billions over budget, and years behind schedule.
That squealing was heard at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which just announced “a wasteful shipbuilding contract” was partially terminated and other Coast Guard contracts are now being reviewed for “failing to meet delivery agreements.” DHS says, “We cannot allow critical shipbuilding projects to languish over budget and behind schedule.”
I also called for auditing the Federal Reserve’s over budget headquarters renovation, which is literally breaking the bank. Just last week, President Trump personally inspected the Fed’s makeover alongside Fed Chair Jerome Powell.
 President Trump reviews the cost overruns of the Federal Reserve’s headquarters renovation with Fed Chair Jerome Powell.
Over at the Pentagon, our commander in chief is ordering a comprehensive review to identify major defense acquisition programs that are over budget and behind schedule, and “any programs found meeting these failing criteria will be considered for cancellation.”
And Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy just unburied a list of boondoggles costing billions of dollars his predecessor, Pete Buttigieg, had withheld from Congress for two-and-a-half years. This report, required by a law I wrote, is a treasure map for finding billions of dollars more buried in bottomless money pits.
I am giving my July 2025 Squeal Award to California Governor Gavin Newsom, former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, former President Joe Biden, former DOT Secretary Buttigieg, Fed Chair Powell, and all the other big spenders who bungled billions of dollars on bankrupt projects.
After all, going a billion dollars over budget isn’t a rounding error; it’s a financial train wreck. Likewise, being five years behind schedule isn’t just losing track of time; it’s a derailment.
To protect taxpayers, I am also releasing my own report, “Off the Rails, The Billion Dollar Boondoggles Taking Taxpayers for a Ride,” outlining other troubled projects that need to be put back on track or canceled altogether before the train leaves the station.
My latest oversight report, "Off the Rails, The Billion Dollar Boondoggles Taking Taxpayers for a Ride," exposes government gravy trains that need to be put back on track or brought to a squealing halt.
Squeal Award: Washington's Big Spenders
For more updates on what's happening in Washington, D.C. and Iowa, be sure to 'Like' my Facebook page, follow me on X and Instagram @SenJoniErnst, and subscribe to my YouTube channel.
Thank you!
|