Vance: Trump administration figuring out why taxes are funding ‘garbage’

Speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference, Vice President JD Vance began his remarks by describing what he said President Donald Trump has tried to do since starting his second term, like securing the southern border and growing the economy. Then they need to find out what taxpayer funds are being used for. Getty Images file/Johannes Simon

Vice President JD Vance says the Trump administration has tried to figure out why tax contributions are funding what he called “garbage.”

He made the comments at the Conservative Political Action Conference, where he began his remarks Thursday by describing what he said President Donald Trump has tried to do since starting his second term, like securing the southern border and growing the economy.

“The third thing that he’s tried to do, of course with the help of Elon and all the great folks at DOGE, is ask, ‘What are we doing with all of the American taxpayer’s money, and why are we wasting so much of it on garbage that the American people either aren’t aware that we’re spending it on or don’t wanna be spending it on in the first place?’ ” Vance said.

An example of that “garbage,” according to the vice president, is what he referred to as “progressive modern art projects centered around toilets in Afghanistan.”

“That’s actually something that your tax dollars were funding until very recently,” Vance said. “And I think all of us are sitting around and asking, ‘What the hell are we doing with the American people’s money for the last four years?’ ”

Whether tax contributions were funding those projects could not be independently verified. But other funds were going to the United States Agency for International Development, a body that has provided assistance to developing countries and was labeled “unaccountable to taxpayers” by the White House.

Vance said the U.S. should “turn off the spigot” and spend public funds on “the American people’s priority.”

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said recently that a lot of people in the federal government believe some work done by the Department of Government Efficiency is “not in the best interest” of taxpayers.

“We think information is eventually gonna come to light. That’s the reality of this situation,” Jeffries said. “There are a lot of hardworking, good-natured people within the federal government who understand that what’s taking place right now is wrong and is not in the best interest of the American taxpayer.”

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