For all its claims of being tight-fisted stewards of the taxpayers’ dollars, the Trump administration really is footloose and fancy free when it comes to vanity projects and symbolic measures. A 2025 estimate suggested the federal government might be on the hook for a cool half-billion to cover President Trump’s pet projects:
While imposing across-the-board layoffs, grant rescissions, and lease cancellations in federal civilian agencies, President Trump is hemorrhaging tax dollars on vanity projects and personal perks, according to Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER). Trump has greenlighted nearly half a billion dollars in tax funds for vanity projects such as a military parade, a statuary garden, an upgrade to Air Force One, and new Oval Office decor.