Shutdown Winnings: Billions in Earmarks for Coke-Driven Moby Dick Theatre, Horse Therapy, “Gay Utopia,” and More

While the government was shut down in October, members of Congress were acting like the fate of American health care, defense and more hung in the balance. But behind the scenes they had still been fighting to secure cash for pet projects like elephant statues, squash courts and thousands of other earmarks.

The shutdown finally ended when H.R. 5371 was signed into law on November 12. Federal employees were out of work and food stamps were in jeopardy, but lawmakers still found time to stuff 862 earmarks worth $2.4 billion into the bill, according to Open the Books’ review of federal disclosures.

Congress has until January 30 to send a full federal budget to President Trump and avoid another shutdown. The remaining appropriations bills still under debate contain 2,381 Senate earmarks worth another $4.7 billion and 4,408 House earmarks worth $6 billion, for a total of $10.7 billion more taxpayer dollars being considered for pet projects.

Senator Coburn often called earmarks “the gateway drug to Washington’s spending addiction.” President Obama had committed to not signing any bill loaded with pork barrel spending in his 2011 State of the Union, kicking off a moratorium Coburn had long championed. Over 11 years, it saved taxpayers roughly $141 billion.

Unfortunately, both parties voted to bring back earmarks beginning in fiscal year 2022, and spending multiplied almost instantly. Despite the moratorium still technically being policy, they are very much back in full force. So while most Americans enjoy turkey for Thanksgiving, Congress remains addicted to pork.

Here are some of the most head-scratching and ridiculous. What they all have in common is they are far afield from the federal government’s core responsibilities.

Trauma-Informed Housing for Santa Fe County
$2.5 million
Sens. Martin Heinrich & Ben Ray Lujan (D-NM)

There are plenty of earmarks for affordable housing, but only one that is centered around “safety and trust; choice and empowerment; community and collaboration; and beauty and joy.”

This new take on housing incorporates the belief that “the housing system intersects with other systems that cause trauma” and can “disempower or remind people of their trauma.”

Jill Pable of the nonprofit Design Resources for Homelessness gave an example in an interview with Housing Finance: “It can be small things such as the lighting that is present in a bathroom. Does the lighting make someone feel empowered for their job interview that day, offering good skin color, or does it emphasize the bags under a person’s eyes?”

Physical property inspections by landlords are also revised so they do not “generate anxiety for residents, particularly those with histories of trauma.”

It’s not the first time the concept has made its way into Congress. Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) earmarked almost $2 million in 2022 and 2023 for “a network of intergenerational, trauma-informed waterfront green spaces.”

Lucy the Elephant
$350,000
Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ)

Booker is requesting funding to help restore a 65-foot elephant statue built in Margate City, New Jersey out of tin and wood in 1882.

Originally a tourist attraction to help sell real estate, Lucy the Elephant was later used as a building for hotels and restaurants.

It was scheduled for demolition in 1969 after falling into disrepair, but a nonprofit formed to stop the demolition. The group has now been trying to restore the statue for 55 years, during which time Lucy has been struck by lightning, been rented out as an AirBNB, and jokingly ran for president in 2016.

Lucy already received $500,000 of federal funding from the National Park Service for repairs in 2021. President Trump rescinded a different $500,000 grant this April.

Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival
$375,000
Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey (D-MA)

The Jacob’s Pillow dance studio was founded in 1933 by Ted Shawn and the Men Dancers as “a kind of early gay utopia.” Its website explains, “The tall and burly Shawn and his athletic dancers were intent on challenging the image of men in dance; they forged a new, boldly muscular style while also raising their own food and constructing buildings still in use today at the Pillow.”

Earlier this year, New York-based dancer Stephen Petronio visited Jacob’s Pillow for his final performances. His “autobiographical solo” Another Kind of Steve is worth a viewing: Petronio flails around sporadically while breathlessly panting lines like “We have failed women. My trans friends have a suitcase packed in case they need to run. My immigrant friends are disappearing. America is crumbling.”

Warren and Markey’s earmark is for K-12 students in the Berkshires to visit Jacob’s Pillow and learn about Biology, Math and Spanish through “choreography, kinesthetic intelligence, and critical and imaginative thinking.”

Theatrical Job Training
$100,000
Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI)

Senator Reed is trying to fund job training at the Mixed Magic Theatre in Pawtucket, Rhode Island.

The theatre, a self-proclaimed “strong proponent of diversity, equity, and inclusion,” is perhaps best known for its play Moby Dick: Then and Now, which replaces the white whale in the original novel with cocaine.

Other plays include The Spirit Warrior’s Dream. Set in a future where America has shrunk into a single city because of climate change, the play features a protagonist who “believes that the America of the past is a failed idea.” The play’s author Ricardo Pitts-Wiley explained, “I thought I was writing fiction, but now, this s**t is really happening!”

Reed visited the Mixed Magic Theatre earlier this year with Rep. Gabe Amo, who said the visit was a protest against those who “seek to deny #BlackHistoryMonth and weaponize the ideas of diversity, equity, and inclusion.”

Let’s Live Being Iniupiaq!
$500,000
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK)

To provide culturally relevant curriculum and instructional opportunities to address learning loss, school engagement, and attendance at North Slope Borough School District.

Other upcoming earmarks include:

• $252,000 for teenagers to design mock bedrooms for the International Space Station, “blending space science with artistic creativity and storytelling” - Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY)

• $2.5 million to remodel the Swan Pond Nature Area in Roane County, to “foster community engagement with nature,” “promote and improve physical and mental well-being,” “promote environmental awareness,” with a focus on “native landscaping and ecological design.” - Rep. Chuck Fleischmann (R-TN)

• $1.5 million for horse-assisted therapy. Three earmarks: Rep. Andy Fine (R-FL), Sens. Chris Van Hollen and Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD)

• $1M for the development of a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine program at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore – Rep. Andy Harris (R-MD, Freedom Caucus)

• $163,000 for Doc’s Healing Hives and Honey Foundation - Sen. John Ossoff (D-GA)

• $2 million to University of South Florida (USF) Artificial Intelligence (Al)/Cyber Makerspace Equipment Acquisition and Installation to be “the first maker space in Florida where students and faculty can explore the nexus of AI and cybersecurity.” - Rep. Laurel Lee (R-FL)

• $1 million for upgrades at an “intergenerational wellness complex” - Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-SC)

• $4 million for improvements to the Cincinnati & Northern Kentucky Airport concourse and taxiway to “support growing cargo operations.” - Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY)

• $1 million for Generation Hope MN, a nonprofit that advocates for the “destigmatization of addiction” and “culturally responsive treatment options” - Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN)

• $200,000 for The SquashWise Center to “provide high-quality and safe recreation and youth development programs for Baltimore City residents.” The SquashWise website says they offer free clinics “helping students reach their athletic, educational and life goals, and making the sport of squash a more accessible and welcoming one for all.” - Sen. Chris van Hollen (D-MD)

The Senate, to its credit, did manage to remove thousands of earmarks from members’ original requests. Sen. Angus King (I-ME) asked for 241 earmarks worth $936 million, which would have been the largest request from a single Senator since at least 2021 — and likely in all of U.S. history. Only 88 of them made it into the final appropriations bills.

Other senators had eye-popping requests that were also cut down. It remains unclear just how many because the Senate Appropriations Committee refused to provide members’ original earmark requests in machine-readable format, despite multiple requests from Open the Books.

Our auditors estimate that the Congressional ban on earmarks from 2011 to 2021 saved $141 billion. Until Congress can figure out how to pass a balanced budget, not a single earmark should be signed — especially not to fund projects as outrageous as these.

READ MORE ON EARMARKS:

Lessons from the Earmark Moratorium for the DOGE Era | John Hart | Open the Books Substack | Feb. 25, 2025

“The Squad” Earmarked $224 Million Since 2023 – Led By AOC, It’s Pork Barrel Spending by The Democratic Socialists | Open the Books Substack | March 26, 2024

House Freedom Caucus Members Earmarked Nearly $1 Billion From Taxpayers | Open the Books Substack | April 3, 2024