| Xitter & Bluesky | @SeanCasten / @SeanCasten.bsky.social |
| Official Site | https://casten.house.gov/ |
| Campaign Site | https://castenforcongress.com/homepage/ |
| Official Mastodonery | @RepCasten |
Sean Casten
@SeanCasten
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Congressman, IL-06. Engineer. Former CEO. Dad. Husband. Occasional piano player. "The best friend of a nation is he who most faithfully rebukes her for her sins—and he her worst enemy who, under the specious… garb of patriotism seeks to excuse, palliate or defend them." - Frederick Douglass
12. For context, that is almost equal to the total $ the US collected from tariff revenue last year. So even if you love the inflationary effect of those tariffs, it's a wash on the revenue side. https://usafacts.org/answers/how-much-revenue-does-the-federal-government-collect-from-tariffs/country/united-states/
How much revenue does the federal government collect from tariffs?
$194.9 billion in FY 2025. This figure reflects revenue from tariffs and other import-related fees, also known as customs duties. Customs duties are taxes and fees paid by US importers and collected by US Customs and Border Protection on goods imported into the country, which generate revenue for the federal government.
11. Like I said, this list isn't complete. But that is - just off the top of my head - $140 billion in wasteful spending that the GOP is prioritizing over American's basic needs. This is the not-even-a-close-call stuff.
10. $85 billion in additional funding for ICE (3x historic funding levels) so they can hire more, less qualified people to violate your rights, kill American citizens and fulfill Steven Miller's racist fantasies without accountability. https://www.appropriations.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/fy26_homeland_security_conference_bill_summary.pdf
9. $2 billion per day (so >$30 billion as of today) to bomb Iran and jack up your gasoline prices with no clearly stated objective, strategy or evident awareness of geography or global energy market impacts. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/3/9/is-the-iran-war-really-costing-the-us-2bn-per-day#:~:text=Earlier%2C%20on%20Thursday%2C%20two%20US,reach%20that%2C%E2%80%9D%20he%20said
8. $20 billion in emergency stabilization funds to Argentina to prop up their economy and expose US taxpayers to Argentinian currency risk, even as US soy farmers were losing market share to them on account of dumb tariffs. https://www.npr.org/2025/11/14/nx-s1-5609382/argentina-loan-bessent-treasury-bailout#:~:text=via%20Getty%20Images-,Last%20month%2C%20during%20the%20longest%20government%20shutdown%20in%20U.S.%20history,Subscribe%20to%20Planet%20Money+
7. $3 billion to attack Venezuela and seize their oil under pretenses that have never been fully explained or defended but in at least one case ("he was indicted by SDNY so we had to get him") apply to Trump himself. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-02-14/us-military-s-venezuela-operations-most-likely-cost-billions
6. $400 million (and counting) to demolish part of the White House for a vanity project with no approval or authorization because baby wants a ballroom. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2025/12/17/trump-white-house-ballroom-400-million/87808741007/
5. $220 million to run DHS ads featuring Kristi Noem on a horse, and to fund lots of shady businesses under what appears to be a highly corrupt operation led by "undersecretary" Lewandowski. https://www.propublica.org/article/kristi-noem-dhs-ad-campaign-strategy-group
Firm Tied to Kristi Noem Secretly Got Money From $220 Million DHS Ad Contracts
The company is run by the husband of Noem’s chief DHS spokesperson and has personal and business ties to Noem and her aides. DHS invoked the “emergency” at the border to skirt competitive bidding rules for the taxpayer-funded campaign.
4. $47 million maintaining ships full of illegally seized oil that cannot find an international market because the United States lacks clear title. https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/13/us/politics/trump-seized-oil-tankers-cost.html
3. Nearly $5 million to the family of Ashli Babbit for her role attacking the Capitol and the US Capitol Police. https://www.politico.com/news/2025/06/06/ashli-babbitt-trump-settlement-00392746
