WASHINGTON (TNND) — Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., released his annual “Festivus Report” on Monday, a document detailing the wasteful government spending released before Christmas each year.

This year’s edition found wasteful federal spending totaling $1,008,313,329,626.12. Those expenses included $12 million on a pickleball complex in Las Vegas and $4 million on Ukrainian influencers.

“It’s that time again,” the senator wrote about X, quoting the popular sitcom Seinfeld. “Happy Holiday! I have a lot of problems with you! And now you’re going to hear about it.”

Senator Paul opened the report by saying that the blame for this spending lies with both political parties, who have behaved as poor stewards of American taxpayer dollars.

“Who is to blame for our crushing national debt?” asked Senator Paul. “All of them. This year, members of both political parties in Congress voted for major spending bills that included subsidies for underperforming industries, continued military aid to Ukraine and controversial climate initiatives.”

The report also highlights $892 billion for “Uncle Sam’s credit card” and over $7 million for “various magical projects.” The senator also condemned a Florida man who stole over $8 million in pandemic relief funds to buy a private island.

“As Congress spends money to reward its favorite pet projects, American taxpayers are forced to pay through high prices and crippling interest rates,” Senator Paul added. “As always, the path to fiscal responsibility is often a lonely one, but I was fighting government waste like DOGE before DOGE was cool.”

The Energy Department also spent $15.5 billion to encourage Americans to adopt electric vehicles, according to the report.

“It is as if they believe that by solving the problem with taxpayer dollars we will magically forget that Americans still prefer their reliable gasoline vehicles,” the senator wrote.

The findings follow Senator Paul’s report last year, which found $900 billion in taxpayer money was wasted. Those issues included a study of Russian cats running on a treadmill and help for “difficult musicians” like Post Malone and Lil Wayne.

The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has vowed to reduce government bloat under the new administration of President-elect Donald Trump. However, California Gov. Gavin Newsom last week derided the Presidential Advisory Council as a “promotional project.”

“We worked before DOGE was DOGE, I don’t know, it’s like an advertising project,” said Governor Newsom. “California has been a leader in this area.”

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