Let’s talk turkey

By U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst
R-Iowa

President-elect Trump is giving taxpayers trillions of reasons to be thankful this Thanksgiving and holiday season.

My fellow Iowans sent me to the Senate 10 years ago to make the porkers squeal. It’s been a very lonely fight. 

Even in this era of political polarization, Democrats and Republicans always come together in agreement over one issue: living high off the hog.

When faced with proposals to trim the fat from Washington’s budget, the turkeys in Congress from both parties act like Goldilocks. The portions are always too little or too big, always too hard, and never just right. But the real “make-believe” of this fairy tale is that it’s impossible to reduce Washington’s budget without causing pain. Most Americans aren’t even benefitting in any meaningful way from hundreds of billions of dollars being wasted.

President Biden added more than $8 trillion in red ink in just four years. Instead of sticking a fork in his borrowing and spending, he keeps gobbling up more tax dollars on his way out the door. Biden’s binge-buying bureaucrats are being ordered to work overtime – including weekends – spending billions of dollars as quickly as possible before President-elect Trump takes office in January.

So then why am I squealing with joy? Because we are making Washington go cold turkey.

President Trump is giving taxpayers trillions of reasons to be thankful. Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy are being tasked with heading up the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) with the mission of finding trillions of dollars of savings for taxpayers by downsizing government.

There’s no team better suited to lead the operation. And to support their efforts, I am chairing the Senate DOGE Caucus.

Washington’s out-of-control spending put our nation $36 trillion in debt. With another $3 billion being added every day just to pay for the interest, the longer we delay tackling the problem, the further away the finish line gets.

For stuffing the budget like a turkey, I am giving my November 2024 Squeal Award to President Biden.

As food for thought, I am putting trillions of dollars of savings on the menu, including gravy trains and lots of unwanted sides, for DOGE to dig into.

Joni Ernst, a native of Red Oak and a combat veteran, represents Iowa in the United States Senate.