‘Festivus’ Airing Of Grievances By Sen. Rand Paul Spotlights Government Waste

Bruce Haring
·1 min read
35
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.

U.S. Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) has got a lot of problems with you Congress people. And today, you’re gonna hear about them.

Paul has posted his ninth annual online salute to government waste as part of today’s Festivus celebration. His “Festivus Report” airs his grievances about an alleged “whopping $900 billion of waste” in federal spending.

More from Deadline

Festivus, for the uninitiated, was a noncommercial holiday made up by Frank Costanza (played by Jerry Stiller) on the classic Seinfeld sitcom. Each December 23, Costanza, rejecting the crass commercialism that has built up around the Christmas holiday, opted for a Festivus dinner, an unadorned aluminum pole as a substitute Christmas totem, and the annual “Airing of Grievances,” followed by “Feats of Strength.”

The episode refers to the holiday as “a Festivus for the rest of us,” and quickly became part of the cultural zeitgeist.

Paul took up Costanza’s rejection of the status quo in his annual message deriding government waste.

The senator’s 2022 grievances included:

  • $33 million spent to house and feed monkeys used in lab research,

  • $6 million to promote tourism in Egypt;

  • The Defense Department spening $8,395 on a lobster tank;

  • $477,000 to study HIV in transgender monkeys.

You can find Dr. Paul’s 2022 Festivus Report HERE.

Best of Deadline

Sign up for Deadline's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.