Trump Signs Bill That Bars Federal Gov’t From Paying For Oil Paintings

Thanks to the passion of Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), President Donald Trump has signed a bill to nip wanton government spending in the bud—by eliminating oil paintings.

Trump signed the Eliminating Government-Funded Oil-Painting (EGO) Act on Wednesday, the law now banning taxpayer funds from being used for portraits of the President, vice president and members of Congress, along with other agency and office heads according to CNN.

Though Cassidy is touting his accomplishment, tweeting that he joined Congress to “cut wasteful spending,” the Congressional Budget Office estimated that the measure will save less than $500,000 a year due to the limited number of commissioned portraits.

As the CNN report points out, the law would not have prevented the recently unveiled portraits of the Obamas from being painted, since they were funded by private contributions. And despite Cassidy’s conviction that “few people ever see or care about” the oil paintings of government officials, administrators at the National Portrait Gallery had to move Michelle Obama’s portrait to a bigger space in early March, as the throngs flocking to see it have created so much congestion in the museum’s halls.