Taxpayer Outrage: How the Government Wasted Millions on Parties and Empty Buildings
Taxpayer Outrage: How the Government Wasted Millions on Parties and Empty Buildings  
Podcast: American Potential
Published On: Wed Aug 20 2025
Description: In this Big Ideas for Smaller Government episode of American Potential, host David From is joined by Jeremiah Mosteller, Policy Director at Americans for Prosperity, to expose the wasteful spending and inefficiencies at the General Services Administration (GSA)—the federal agency responsible for managing office buildings, procurement, and travel across the U.S. government. They revisit the infamous $800,000 Las Vegas conference scandal, complete with a $30,000 pool party and a 2,400 sq. ft. hotel suite—paid for by taxpayers. They also uncover the GSA's multi-billion-dollar mismanagement of a long-delayed Department of Homeland Security headquarters and reveal that the federal government is using just 25% of the office space it occupies. David and Jeremiah lay out a plan to save $1.88 billion over the next decade by selling underused federal buildings—many of which are sitting empty—and call on Congress to step up and demand accountability. This episode is a revealing look at how cutting GSA waste is one more step toward saving taxpayers trillions.