Calls Grow for Congress to End One of D.C.’s ‘Swampiest’ Practices

Conservative leaders are demanding that Congress bring back the ban on earmarks, one of Washington’s most corrupt and widely abused spending practices long used to grease the wheels of bloated budget deals and fund far-left ideological causes with taxpayer money.

In a letter sent Wednesday to every member of Congress, 24 conservative activists led by Advancing American Freedom President Tim Chapman called on lawmakers to end earmarks once and for all as they prepare the Fiscal Year 2026 appropriations bill.

“As the United States Congress proceeds with Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 appropriations, many of your colleagues will once again seek to direct taxpayer dollars to their favorite pet projects through earmarks, one of the swampiest features of policymaking in Washington, D.C.,” the letter states.

The message is clear: voters didn’t give Republicans a governing trifecta in 2024 just to fund drag queen story hours, climate alarmism, and anti-Israel nonprofits.

Earmarks allow lawmakers to slip in pet projects for their districts or their donors often with zero debate, oversight, or accountability. They were banned by Republicans in 2011, only to be quietly brought back in 2021 under Democratic leadership.

Since then, earmarks have predictably returned to form:

• Earmarked funds in FY2024 went to abortion providers, radical transgender programs, and anti-Semitic groups, according to the coalition.

• Past projects have included millions for the American LGBTQ+ Museum, the Universal Hip Hop Museum, and the National Great Blacks in Wax Museum.

• These projects are handpicked by lawmakers and shielded from public scrutiny, creating a system ripe for corruption and backroom deal-making.

“Historically, conservatives recognized the problem with using earmarks to lure legislators into supporting reckless budget agreements,” the letter continues.

The signatories also reminded Congress that even Barack Obama opposed earmarks, pledging to veto any bill that contained them, and that Nancy Pelosi kept them off the table for the first two years of her speakership.

“Earmarks were so broadly unpopular,” the coalition writes, “that even liberal leadership knew how toxic they were to voters.”

Conservatives are now calling for a return to real fiscal responsibility, not a continuation of the “you vote for my pork, I’ll vote for yours” racket that has fueled decades of Washington waste.

The letter also made it clear that Republicans have no excuse. After winning the White House, House, and Senate in the 2024 elections, the GOP now has the power and the mandate to end earmarks for good.

“In the 2024 elections, voters delivered a clear mandate to Republicans to overturn a broken status quo,” the letter says.

Signatories include:

• Kristen Ullman, Eagle Forum President

• John Hart, CEO of Open the Books

• Savanna Deretich, Students for Life Action

• Former Rep. Bob Good (R-VA)

These leaders and the voters behind them want to see real reform. Not speeches. Not symbolic gestures. Action.

Because at the end of the day, earmarks don’t just waste money. They rig the system, enrich the connected, and keep Washington stuck in the corrupt feedback loop voters desperately want broken.

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