GOP politicians talk a big game about fiscal conservatism and balancing the budget—especially with a $29.8-trillion-and-counting national debt and runaway inflation. But which elected Republicans actually practice what they preach?
To find out, we looked at SpendingTracker.org’s rankings for how much spending each Senate Republican voted for during the previous session of Congress. (Data for the ongoing session is, by nature, incomplete). We looked at the data for all the spending they voted for, not just bills that ultimately were passed, because SpendingTracker says this gives a “fuller picture of intentions versus results.”
Here are the 10 most fiscally-conservative Republicans in the Senate, and how much total federal spending they voted for last session.
- Rand Paul (Kentucky): $510.7 billion
- Mike Lee (Utah): $1.06 trillion
- Mitt Romney (Utah): $2.2 trillion
- Marsha Blackburn (Tennessee): $2.46 trillion
- Ron Johnson (Wisconsin): $2.49 trillion
- Rick Scott (Florida): $2.5 trillion
- John Thune (South Dakota): $2.53 trillion
- Ted Cruz (Texas): $2.53 trillion
- Mike Enzi (Wyoming): $2.6 trillion
- Mike Rounds (South Dakota): $2.84 trillion
Don’t see your home state senator or your favorite GOP voice on here?
Well, actions speak a lot louder than words.
