$85 Billion in Government Waste Exposed by Ninth Edition of Federal Fumbles Report

Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., released his ninth edition of the Federal Fumbles report on Friday, detailing billions of dollars in wasteful spending, fraud, and government inefficiencies across federal agencies.

The report highlighted questionable research grants, weak oversight of taxpayer funds sent overseas, failures in food assistance programs, and the high cost of government shutdowns, while outlining legislative proposals Lankford said would restore accountability.

“It’s Federal Fumbles season again,” Lankford stated. “My ninth edition takes a hard look at the spending and inefficiencies that leave taxpayers wondering what Washington is doing with their money and why government is not serving them.”

“From research projects that raise eyebrows to dollars sent overseas with little oversight to fraud in food programs to shutdowns that cost billions, the pattern is the same. Too often, the federal government is not accountable to the people.”

Lankford emphasized that the report goes beyond identifying problems. “Fumbles is about more than pointing out the problems,” he said. “It lays out a playbook to fix them,” citing proposals to crack down on COVID-era fraud, streamline disaster relief programs spread across more than 30 agencies, and prevent government shutdowns.

The report cited specific examples including nearly $150,000 spent studying how COVID and climate change affect herring in Alaska and $124,000 sent to a Chinese laboratory for beagle experiments with limited U.S. oversight. Lankford also highlighted a $250 million SNAP fraud scheme in Minnesota, part of extensive abuse in federal food programs, and a quarter-billion dollars spent on NIH-funded transgender experiments on mice, rats, and monkeys.

The costliest failure cited was a 43-day government shutdown that Lankford estimates cost taxpayers between $74 billion and $85 billion. Outside the report’s top five examples, Lankford pointed to federal funding for research using human fetal tissue obtained from elective abortions. According to the report, the National Institutes of Health spent $53 million on such research in 2024 and continued funding 17 related grants into 2025 before announcing they would not be renewed.

Lankford argued that without congressional action, future administrations could resume the practice. He has signed on to the Protecting Life and Integrity in Research Act, which would prohibit the use of aborted fetal tissue in federally funded research. The report also called for reforms to address billions of dollars in COVID-era fraud still being uncovered, overhaul a disaster relief system involving dozens of federal entities, and pass legislation aimed at preventing future government shutdowns.