Elon is out. Excessive spending is not.

DOGE's survival is up to us.

A lot of people think that DOGE is done.

As friends and supporters of Open the Books, you know that the work of the Transparency Revolution is only just beginning.

What we do next matters. And I’m counting on your continued support.

Thanks to OTB supporters like you, we have published the most expansive map of government spending in human history.

We call it the Spending Genome Project. And it’s why Open the Books will prevail in bringing lasting transparency to our government.

It sheds light on the full extent of government waste and taxpayer abuse. Your generosity is showing Americans the facts, like:

• the $4.6 BILLION that government agencies spent on furniture since 2020—often for offices that were mostly deserted after COVID lockdowns.

• how staff levels at the U.S. Department of Education have decreased since 2000, even as the agency’s annual spending has risen 749% . . .

Will you keep the pressure on Congress to give Americans the responsible government we deserve?>>

In the old days, elite media could ignore the few members of Congress who tried to wake the nation up about wasteful spending on pet projects and on well-placed cronies.

Now we have an army. We have the momentum. And in the Spending Genome Project, we have an incredibly powerful tool that will only grow in effectiveness.

Let’s make the Transparency Revolution permanent by holding Congress itself accountable.

Once we’ve fully opened the federal books, no one will be able to shut them again.

“But Washington never changes, John.”

It’s true, the career politicians don’t like change.

They’re committed to covering their tracks and protecting their power.

But you and I are committed to the Transparency Revolution. That means we need to bring change to DC whether career politicians like it or not.

Here are three things we’ve learned:

1. Change is possible. With the technology and access we have now, it’s just a matter of time before we identify the vast majority of wasted taxpayer dollars.

2. Change is popular. Americans were enraged when DOGE exposed the extravagant waste in so many agencies. Polls show that Americans want MORE accountability for federal spending.

3. Making lasting change is hard. (See: my previous point about career politicians covering their tracks and protecting their power).

That’s why your support of Open the Books is essential to making the Transparency Revolution permanent.

Congress MUST codify DOGE cuts and find major entitlement savings to escape our country’s impending fiscal crisis.

Your partnership with Open the Books shines a spotlight on government waste that will keep Americans fired up and demanding savings from Congress.

Can I count on you to hold government accountable today?

For fiscal sanity,

John Hart