Waste of the Day: What’s Big, Grey And Costs $350K?

Topline: An elephant never forgets, and neither does a senator who desperately wants to spend tax dollars on giant elephants.

Taxpayers’ money for Lucy the Elephant

Earlier this year, Elon Musk’s Department of Government of Government Efficiency rescinded a grant Sen. Cory Booker secured for the massive “Lucy the Elephant,” a six-story landmarked building in Margate City, New Jersey.

Now that Musk is gone, Booker has earmarked $350,000 in the 2026 Department of Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act to restore the grant and refurbish the statue. 

Key facts: The bill containing Booker’s latest grant has not been signed into law yet, but it is very rare for earmarks to be removed at this late stage of the annual appropriations process. Congress must pass the bill by Jan. 31 to avoid a government shutdown.

Lucy was built in 1882 out of tin and wood as a tourist attraction to help sell real estate, complete with tusks and huge brown eyes. According to Wikipedia, its 65-foot height makes it the 12th-tallest statue in America. It weighs 90 tons.

Visitors in the 1800’s climbed inside the elephant and up onto its back to look over New Jersey and pick out parcels of land to buy. Lucy was used as a restaurant, business office and more during the early 1900s, but it fell into disrepair and was scheduled to be demolished in 1969.

Lucy escaped demolition

The nonprofit Save Lucy Committee formed and raised enough private money to move Lucy into a city-owned lot. The nonprofit paid for some repairs to Lucy’s exterior, but the statue has endured more damage since then. Lucy’s tusks were struck by lightning in 2006. It was available for overnight stays on Airbnb in 2020. Today, it is open for guided tours.

Lucy underwent repairs in 2022 that were estimated to cost $1.4 million but ended up using $2.4 million. It was partially funded by a $500,000 grant from the National Park Service and state money from New Jersey.

That apparently was not enough money. In August 2024, Booker announced a $500,000 grant to upgrade Lucy’s air conditioning system and install burglar alarms.

The Save Lucy Committee tried to replace the grant with private donations, but “the fundraising campaign isn’t exactly off to a great start,” according to Philadelphia Magazine. Now, federal taxpayers will likely be funding what local New Jersey residents are unwilling to pay for themselves.

Cory Booker and his earmarks

The grant is just one of 94 earmarks worth $94.3 million that Booker placed in the 2026 federal appropriations bills. Nine of his earmarks have already been signed into law. Booker originally wanted 302 earmarks, but most of them were cut during congressional debate.

Search all federal, state and local salaries and vendor spending with the world’s largest government spending database at OpenTheBooks.com. 

Summary: Coming off the longest government shutdown in history, elephant statues should not be Congress’ top priority.

The #WasteOfTheDay is brought to you by the forensic auditors at OpenTheBooks.com.

This article was originally published by RealClearInvestigations and made available via RealClearWire.