Citizens Against Government Waste Names Rep. Melanie Stansbury February 2025 Porker of the Month

Today, Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) named Rep. Melanie Stansbury (D-N.M.) its February 2025 Porker of the Month for lambasting cost-cutting proposals by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

On February 5, 2025, at the House Oversight Hearing on Government Efficiency, Rep. Stansbury accused Elon Musk of running “a fake governmental department.” There is nothing fake about the documented wasteful spending eliminated by DOGE, including suspending production of the penny and forcing government agencies to cancel millions of dollars in media subscriptions. Rep. Stansbury also claimed that DOGE is accessing private taxpayer information at the Treasury, but they simply wanted more transparency, like the statutory justification for the expenditures. She also protested the termination of $900 million in Department of Education grants and contracts but forgot to check how much is being wasted, including $4.6 million to coordinate zoom and in-person meetings, $3 million write a report about prior reports that were not utilized, and $1.4 million to physically observe mailing and clerical operations.

CAGW President Tom Schatz said, “Rep. Stansbury’s ridiculous tirade against saving taxpayer dollars is shameful. Every member of Congress should support the efforts by DOGE to successfully alleviate waste, fraud, abuse, duplication, and mismanagement, including legislation that is needed to make the recommendations permanent. Rep. Stansbury should stop resisting and start getting on board with DOGE to save hundreds of billions of dollars for taxpayers in the face of $2 trillion deficits and a $36.5 trillion national debt. For vehemently objecting to commonsense reforms and cost-saving proposals, Rep. Stansbury was an easy choice for February Porker of the Month.”

Citizens Against Government Waste is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement in government. For more than two decades, Porker of the Month is a dubious honor given to lawmakers and government officials who have shown a blatant disregard for the taxpayers.

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