The federal government does not have any money.  Every dollar that is spent by Washington was earned by an American who woke up, went to work, and earned it.  

That’s why the State Department’s asinine decision to spend more than $20,000 tax dollars on drag shows geared towards Ecuadorian youth is such a slap in the face.  To add insult to injury, the cultural center that hosted the shows is named after none other than Abraham Lincoln.  It’s hard to imagine that one of the Founding Fathers of both our nation and of the party of limited government would be pleased with this wild misuse of taxpayer funds.  

Thankfully, after Congressional and public pressure, this grant was rescinded.  However, there are still major questions as to how it was approved in the first place.  Bemused and baffled, Republicans on the House Foreign Affairs Committee have demanded answers for months, but we’ve been met with silence. 

This isn't a situation where they can ignore us and we’ll go away.  We’re going to get to the bottom of it, which is why I’m working with Chairman Michael McCaul and Subcommittee Chairwoman Maria Elvira Salazar to keep pressing the State Department and to make sure that tax dollars aren’t used on this type of seriously misguided programming ever again. 

When we talk about the need to rein in federal spending in order to fight inflation, we’re talking about ending this type of waste.  I will continue to hold the Biden Administration accountable for how your tax dollars are used overseas because anything less is an insult to those who go to work every day and earn their paychecks.