Congress can’t even debate a bill without wasting money. In the first two months of this year, it spent at least $27,500 “on printing charts, props, and posters, sticking them on easels (or making staff hold them up) and giving speeches about them,” according to FloorCharts, which has been archiving congressional charts and posters since 2012.
That figure was obtained by estimating the average cost of a chart at $50 and totaling the number of charts used by the House and Senate (550) over the two-month period. This number doesn’t include all committee charts, but the analysis found that Republicans “used about 20 more charts than Democrats.” FloorCharts notes that “this is napkin math, because there is no line item in the office budgets for ‘printed charts, props, and posters.'”
That total is a mere drop in the bucket compared to the national debt, but any wasteful government spending should be eliminated. And when you look at the posters the legislators came up with, you’ll see that this spending could be very wasteful indeed. Here are four of the most ridiculous posters—and one that we have to admit is pretty good.
1. ‘Fire Elon, Save Elmo’
In a March hearing of the House Delivering on Government Efficiency subcommittee, Rep. Greg Casar (D–Texas) used a “Fire Elon, Save Elmo” poster to argue against defunding PBS and NPR. Naturally, the congressman didn’t question whether state-funded media is the best use of taxpayer dollars. In any case, evidently no one told Casar that Sesame Street moved to HBO a decade ago before hopping to Netflix this year. Even with PBS defunded, the show has a home.
2. Trump’s Tariff Strategy
In February, President Donald Trump kicked off his new tariff regime with new duties on products from China, Canada, and Mexico (the latter two of which he later paused). While many economists warned about the detrimental effects these would have, Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) used a board with some curious capitalization choices to voice his support for the president’s policies.
“President Trump’s strategic tariffs will strengthen and revitalize our nation’s economy, stop the flow of illicit drugs and illegal immigration,” said Tuberville on the Senate floor. “President Trump is utilizing every tool at his disposal as we speak, including tariffs to usher in the golden age of the American economy. We have to make that change.”
Trump’s on-again, off-again tariffs have not, in fact, “strengthened and revitalized” the economy. Rather, they’ve raised prices for consumers and businesses. Ford, for example, paid “$800 million in tariff-related expenses during the second quarter of 2025” despite “building most of its cars in America,” reports Reason‘s Eric Boehm. Claims that tariffs have halted the flow of “illicit drugs” have proven to be equally dubious.
3. ‘DEI in Our Miltary’
At a January hearing considering Pete Hegseth’s nomination to be defense secretary, Sen. Eric Schmitt (R–Mo.) used a board to criticize the Biden administration’s use of diversity, equity, and inclusion practices in the U.S. military. Schmitt spoke in favor of Hegseth, who he says will restore a warrior ethos, “in stark contrast to the ethos we’ve seen of the last four said, which is of weakness and wokeness.”
Schmitt accused the military of lowering its standards to meet increasingly low recruitment. This would have been more compelling if Schmitt’s board didn’t misspell “military.” Perhaps this board was a subtle foreshadowing of Hegseth’s tumultuous tenure at the helm of the Defense Department.
4. Elon Musk Steals an Elderly Woman’s Purse as Donald Trump Gives the Thumbs-Up
During a floor speech in February, Rep. Mark Pocan (D–Wis.) used this goofy graphic to denounce Donald Trump, Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Pocan painted a bleak picture of Musk collecting “$20 billion from taxpayers with one hand while slashing funds for child care, health care, nutrition assistance and public education with the other,” but DOGE in fact had only a small impact on the amount of money the government was spending. While Musk originally anticipated that the agency would cut $2 trillion, DOGE now says that it has saved taxpayers only $199 billion—and even that figure has been questioned by many.
5. ‘Washington-opoly’
OK, we admit it: This poster is pretty good. It’s a highly elaborate “Washington-opoly” board, offering a creative spin on the classic game Monopoly. In remarks delivered to the Senate floor, Sen. Joni Ernst (R–Iowa) played a round to illustrate the government’s expansive and expensive real estate portfolio. Ernst pointed out that the Agriculture Department’s South Building in Washington, D.C., costs more than $11 million in upkeep, needs nearly $2 million in repairs, and is occupied only 22 percent of the time.
“Uncle Sam gets away with it because Washington plays with its own set of rules. And no matter how you roll the dice, Washington-opoly is a losing game for taxpayers,” said Ernst. Those taxpayers paid for Ernst’s extravagant Washington-opoly too, but at least this time the poster looks good and makes a solid point.
The post Congress Spent At Least $27,500 on Poster Displays in 2 Months. Here Are 4 Ridiculous Examples and 1 Good One. appeared first on Reason.com.
