The Biden administration spent over $1 million renovating pools at U.S. embassies and mission residences in war-torn and poverty-stricken nations, according to a report from Sen. Joni Ernst’s office.
"The Biden State Department threw a blowout summer pool party on your dime," the Iowa Republican said in a statement.
During the 46th president’s term, the feds placed at least 14 orders related to swimming pools at embassies or mission residences in seven countries, including Russia — after its brutal invasion of Ukraine began, according to an analysis from Sen. Joni Ernst’s (R-Iowa) office. […]
Most of the orders appear to be for upgrades to pools rather than installations of brand new ones, despite some of the costs running into six figures.
In Zimbabwe, for example, the State Department approved an upgrade to US mission residences in Harare to include pool covers — costing more than $130,000, according to USASpending.gov, which Ernst’s team used to compile the data.
Meanwhile, Uncle Sam spent some $40,000 in 2022 for a “swimming pool sewer pump replacement” in its Moscow Embassy. Records indicate that the contract was issued almost three months after Russia’s bloody onslaught against Ukraine began that February.
In Iraq, officials billed taxpayers for a roughly $444,000 upgrade to the indoor dehumidification system in the lavish Baghdad Embassy — a facility that had cost over $750 million.
In all, the analysis found that there were two upgrades for pools in Haiti, one in Russia, five in Iraq, three in Sudan, one in Zimbabwe, one in Ghana and one in Indonesia. (New York Post)
Recommended
"Bureaucrats might think wasting millions is a drop in the bucket, but I am sick and tired of taxpayers getting tossed in the deep end by Washington," Ernst said. "I will continue working with the Trump administration to put a stop to the splashy spending of the Biden years."
The Biden State Department threw a blowout summer pool party around the world on your dime.
— Joni Ernst (@SenJoniErnst) July 18, 2025
Bureaucrats might think wasting millions is a drop in the bucket, but I am sick and tired of taxpayers getting tossed in the deep end by Washington.
The splashy spending must stop! https://t.co/LYMGW3sLys
Editor’s Note: Do you enjoy Townhall's conservative reporting that exposes Big Government waste, fraud, and abuse? Support our work so that we can continue to bring you the truth.
Join Townhall VIP and use the promo code FIGHT to get 60% off your VIP membership!
Join the conversation as a VIP Member