To hear Democrats and their mainstream media allies tell it, the new Department of Government Efficiency is the stuff of nightmares

Leaders can say they’re going to cut government waste, but actually doing so? The audacity.

Americans outside the Beltway are no doubt reeling as well, not because of DOGE’s cost-cutting scrutiny of government spending, but rather some of the egregious waste that’s been uncovered.

As FoxNews reported, Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, the Senate DOGE Caucus Chairwoman, recently published a list of projects and programs she says the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has helped fund across the years.

Ernst highlighted that the agency “authorized a whopping $20 million to create a ‘Sesame Street’ in Iraq.”

Under the Biden administration, USAID awarded $20 million to a nonprofit called Sesame Workshop to produce a show called “Ahlan Simsim Iraq” in an effort to “promote inclusion, mutual respect and understanding across ethnic, religious and sectarian groups.”

The government funded another $1.5 million program aimed to “advance diversity, equity and inclusion in Serbia’s workplaces and business communities.”

Your tax dollars at work.

The Pentagon doesn’t coming up smelling of roses, either.

A congressional inquiry in 2018 found the Air Force was spending $1,300 for each reheatable coffee cup aboard one of its aircraft. The Air Force spent $32,000 replacing 25 cups, according to Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa.

A two-year audit by the Defense Department Inspector General last year found that Boeing overcharged the Air Force by 8,000% for soap dispensers. They overpaid by $149,072.

Does the Pentagon’s $850 billion budget need a dose of DOGE? You’d better believe it.

It’s not necessarily the wasteful spending reveals that are shocking Democrats, but the fact that something is being done about them.

Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) said earlier this month that he thinks President Trump’s DOGE commission will find “awful examples” of wasteful government spending.

But, as The Hill reported, Khanna said it’s important the findings be brought to Congress, which is responsible for appropriating government funds, according to the U.S. Constitution.

“I think they are likely to find awful examples of wasteful spending. I don’t contest that. I’m sure they can legitimately offer transparency and sunlight to the American people. Just come to Congress, show us what you’re finding, and then force up or down votes,” Khanna said in an interview on CNBC’s “Squawk Box.”

“And if Ro Khanna still votes for those wasteful spending, I’ll have to answer back home,” he continued.

So, wasting taxpayer money should be up for debate, and there are pols who could vote “yes.” Of course they would, they just wouldn’t frame it as throwing money away.

These programs, these payments had to be dreamed up by someone, had to get a government green light. And they weren’t sold as bad decisions, but rather as important projects in line with the party agenda. The fact that there are plenty of Americans who are struggling to get by, who need help covering basic needs and who are thrown for a loop by an unexpected bill didn’t seem to stop millions of dollars from flying out of the country in Big Bird’s suitcase.

Cutting government waste should be a no-brainer. Political leaders on both sides of the aisle should champion efficiency and careful management of the money taxpayers send to Washington.

The pols who are outraged that the gravy train is over are the ones who got a good ride.

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