Fact Check: No evidence Elizabeth Warren said Americans had no right to see how tax money is spent
Claim:
U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren said: "There is nothing in the constitution that says ordinary Americans have a right to see what we are spending tax dollars on."
Rating:
In February 2025, a rumor spread that U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren had said Americans did not have the right to see how their tax money was being spent.
The full quote purportedly attributed to Warren read: "There is nothing in the Constitution that says ordinary Americans have a right to see what we're spending tax dollars on."
Users on X (archived), Facebook (archived, archived) and Instagram said the Massachusetts Democrat made the comment on Jan. 30, 2025. One user captioned the quote: "Scary quote of the day."
(X user @nettermike)
Snopes readers also sent us examples of the rumor, including the meme below, and asked whether it was true.
There was no evidence that Warren said these words. A review of her personal and senatorial X accounts found no results for the words "constitution," "tax" and "dollars." Similarly, no results for the same search term turned up on two Facebook accounts officially affiliated with the senator.
The U.S. Senate website similarly had no record of the phrase, nor did Warren's own website.
A Google search of the quote turned up no results besides the social media posts claiming she had said it. No credible news outlets reported that Warren said the words.
Additionally, a spokesperson from Warren's office told us via email that the quote was fake.
For these reasons, we rated this claim as misattributed.
Government provision of "a regular statement" of "expenditures of all public money," as mentioned in the above meme sent in by a Snopes reader, is a legitimate part of the U.S. Constitution. Article 1, Section 9, Clause 7 reads in part: "a regular Statement and Account of the Receipts and Expenditures of all public Money shall be published from time to time."
"Elizabeth Warren." Facebook.com, facebook.com/ElizabethWarren/?locale=en_GB. Accessed 11 Feb. 2025.
"Elizabeth Warren Made a Statement Suggesting That..." Instagram, 8 Feb. 2020, www.instagram.com/muck.raking.media/reel/DF0IWikOTnq/. Accessed 11 Feb. 2025.
Hoskins, Steve. "U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren January 30, 2025..." Facebook.com, 9 Feb. 2025, www.facebook.com/daddy.hoss/posts/pfbid02C51WCXd154xfsa6rnMacntZFPUoBdPqtUFaSU7ZWfCw9PCj2RXqTcFEEMZhS4MvCl. Accessed 11 Feb. 2025.
Netter, Mike. "X.com." X (Formerly Twitter), 7 Feb. 2025, x.com/nettermike/status/1887886403993780352. Accessed 11 Feb. 2025.
"Overview of Appropriations Clause | Constitution Annotated | Congress.gov | Library of Congress." Congress.gov, constitution.congress.gov/browse/essay/artI-S9-C7-1/ALDE_00001095/. Accessed 11 Feb. 2025.
"U.S. Senate." Www.senate.gov, www.senate.gov/index.htm. Accessed 11 Feb. 2025.
"U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren." Facebook.com, www.facebook.com/senatorelizabethwarren/?locale=en_GB. Accessed 11 Feb. 2025.
Warren, Elizabeth. "Home | U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts." Senate.gov, www.warren.senate.gov/. Accessed 11 Feb. 2025.
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