U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro on Friday posted a video showing what she described as hundreds of taxpayer-funded computers and lamps sitting unused in basement storage rooms, describing the discovery as an example of wasteful spending in the nation’s capital.
In the video shared to her X account, Pirro walked through an unnamed government storage area in Washington and criticized what she said was a failure to properly dispose of surplus items purchased with public money.
“Just because we’re in D.C. doesn’t mean that people here can waste your dollars,” Pirro said in the video, while standing in what she described as a “massive basement storage facility” filled with boxed equipment.
Pirro said the facility contained at least 50 boxes of lamps and “well over 1,000 computers,” estimating the number of unused computers may be closer to 2,000. She argued that instead of leaving the items in storage, the government should sell or donate them through existing surplus property programs.
“When public items are purchased with taxpayers’ dollars are no longer used, you don’t throw them away and put them in the basement, you sell them,” Pirro said. “Even if you only make pennies on the dollar, at least the American taxpayer gets some benefit from it.”
Pirro did not identify the building, agency, or department where the items were stored, nor did she provide an estimated dollar value for the equipment.
The video comes as the Trump administration has continued to spotlight wasteful federal spending and root out waste, fraud, and abuse across government agencies.
Since returning to office, President Donald Trump and allies have repeatedly criticized what they describe as bloated bureaucracy and poor stewardship of taxpayer dollars, while directing agencies to review contracts, staffing, and unused federal assets.
The federal government already operates systems for redistributing or selling surplus property. Through the General Services Administration, excess computers, office furniture, and equipment can be transferred to other agencies, sold at auction, or donated to state and local governments, schools, and nonprofit organizations.
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Pirro suggested additional action could follow.
“I’m going to make sure some of that money is returned to the taxpayers,” she said.