Fraud, Waste, and Abuse - But only When it Benefits Them
Tax cuts for billionaires. Censorship for universities. Food and medicine left to rot. Fascist State news replacing the voice of democracy. This is what Republican efficiency looks like.
Republicans claim to be fiscal hawks rooting out “waste, fraud, and abuse,” but their latest budget does the exact opposite. While delivering a staggering $817 billion in tax cuts to the wealthiest 5%, they slash food, healthcare, public broadcasting, and global aid programs that serve millions. From abandoned medicine to partisan takeovers of education and media; this is not governance—it’s gaslighting and authoritarianism, wrapped in hypocrisy.
1. A Wasteful, Fraudulent, Abusive Budget
Republicans are beyond hypocritical, and the gaslighting is off the charts. They claim they are cracking down on “waste, fraud, and abuse” while pushing a budget that is the definition of all three. 1
Their “One Big Beautiful Bill” delivers $817 billion to the top 5% of Americans - who absolutely don’t need it, while tossing crumbs to the rest of us. Meanwhile, they gut domestic programs that provide food and health care to people who do need them.
Consider the facts:
The top 5% receive $69,000- $390,000 per household.
The bottom 95% get a diluted $100-$3,000, spread across more than 125 million households.
All told, tax cuts for the rich cost more than the combined cuts to SNAP and Medicaid. [ITEP]
If Congress simply canceled the $817B tax cut for the top 5%, we could fully fund:
SNAP (avoiding $230 billion in cuts) 2
Medicaid expansion (preserving coverage fort millions)3
Medicare (preventing $500 billion in automatic cuts triggered by PAYGO)
4What is Paygo?
PAYGO (Pay-As-You-Go) is a budget rule that requires new tax cuts or spending increases to be offset. If not, automatic cuts are triggered—up to 4% annually from programs like Medicare. In this case, the deficit caused by tax cuts would slash Medicare funding by $500 billion unless Congress votes to waive it.
2. News is only “Partisan” when it is the truth
Republicans want to defund public broadcasting, claiming NPR and PBS are “partisan.” But their real goal is silencing truth.
Meanwhile, Trump has replaced leadership at Voice of America with propagandists from One America News (OAN) - a far-right disinformation network. They are spending your tax dollars to push fascist messaging to the world. But, sure, tell us again how PBS is the threat.5
And, frankly, most Americans in the bottom 95% would gladly forego their measly tax cuts to save NPR and PBS.
3. Ideological abuse in Higher Ed: Mandates Masquerading as Reform
And, what could be more fraudulent than claiming to fight indoctrination—while forcing public universities to conform to a Christian nationalist ideology?
This is not fiscal oversight. It’s political takeover disguised as reform.
The White House is attempting to force universities to align with Project 2025’s plutocratic Christian Nationalist agenda - staffing, recruiting, and teaching according to political ideology.6
At the same time, they are forcing schools to abandon their Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives. So, inclusion is banned if it applies to gender, ethnicity, or disability, but required if it promotes far-right ideology and theology.
That’s not education. That’s authoritarianism in a cap and gown.
4. The $45 million birthday parade
The government is spending $45 million on a military parade, allegedly to honor the 250th anniversary of the US. Army. But, it is really to stroke Trump’s ego on his birthday.
And that isn’t the full price tag: Another $11 million is estimated for street repairs after he tanks roll through.
This, from the party that insists we must slash food assistance because of “waste, fraud and abuse.” The real abuse? This parade. This president. This party.7
5. Abandonment as Policy: The Waste They Won’t Talk About
If you’re looking for actual government waste, here it is: $98 million in food rotting in warehouses. $300 million in unused medicine expiring on pallets.
That’s not oversight—it’s sabotage. And yes, it’s abuse.
When USAID was illegally dissolved, it left behind 66,000 metric tons of food rotting in four warehouses in Houston, Djibouti, Dubai, and South Africa. Enough to feed 3.5 million for a month.
Also abandoned: $300 million in medication nearing expiration.
Why? Because nothing can be released without the approval of the State Department’s Office of Foreign Assistance; currently led by Jeremy Lewin, a 28-year-old former operative in Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).8
Wasn’t DOGE supposed to root out “waste, fraud, and abuse?”
Seriously - what is he waiting for?
Final Thoughts
Republicans aren’t rooting out waste.They are redistributing it. From food programs to public broadcasting, from medicine to education, they’re cutting what the majority needs to pay for what billionaires want. And they’re doing it with straight faces, wrapped in the language of accountability.
It’s not just hypocrisy.
It’s policy as performance.
And the rest of us are paying for the show.