The COVID Spending Tsunami
Published: February 2025
$1.5T in emergency spending across 20 agencies and 30 top recipients — the largest emergency outlay in American history.
Total COVID Spending
$1.5T
Agencies Involved
20
Top Agency (HHS)
$290.0B
$1.46 Trillion — With Minimal Oversight
The largest emergency spending in US history was pushed out the door in months, not years. HHS, Education, and Defense each received over $275 billion. Billions went to state agencies, defense contractors, and pharmaceutical companies. Emergency rules meant reduced competition, waived audits, and fast-tracked contracts. Years later, the full accounting is still incomplete — and fraud estimates run into the hundreds of billions.
Top 10 Agencies by COVID Spending
COVID-related awards by agency. Source: USASpending.gov
Where Did the Money Actually Go?
State education departments received tens of billions each — California alone got $30.5B. Defense labs like Sandia and Los Alamos pulled in $15B+ each. Moderna received nearly $10 billion in federal funds. The MTA got $15.2 billion. Emergency spending became a firehose — and everyone lined up with a bucket.
Top 30 COVID Spending Recipients
The largest recipients of COVID emergency funds. Search by name.
| # | Recipient | Amount↓ |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Department Of Education California | $30.5B |
| 2 | Governor's Authorized Representative | $27.1B |
| 3 | Tx Education Agency | $19.6B |
| 4 | Texas Division Of Emergency Management | $15.8B |
| 5 | National Technology & Engineering Solutions Of San... | $15.5B |
| 6 | Metropolitan Transportation Authority | $15.2B |
| 7 | New York State Education Department | $15.0B |
| 8 | New York State Division Of Homeland Security & Eme... | $14.9B |
| 9 | Florida Department Of Education | $14.7B |
| 10 | Lockheed Martin Corporation | $14.5B |
| 11 | Triad National Security, LLC | $14.4B |
| 12 | Fluor Marine Propulsion, LLC | $11.9B |
| 13 | Office Of Emergency Services | $11.8B |
| 14 | Modernatx, Inc. | $10.0B |
| 15 | Lawrence Livermore National Security, LLC | $9.9B |
| 16 | Ut-battelle LLC | $9.5B |
| 17 | Illinois State Board Of Education | $8.5B |
| 18 | Commonwealth Of Pennsylvania Department Of Educati... | $8.1B |
| 19 | Homeland Security & Emergency | $8.0B |
| 20 | State Of Florida Division Of Emergency Management | $7.9B |
| 21 | Michigan Department Of Education | $7.7B |
| 22 | Ohio Department Of Education | $7.4B |
| 23 | Savannah River Nuclear Solutions LLC | $7.1B |
| 24 | Georgia Dept Of Education | $6.9B |
| 25 | Battelle Energy Alliance, LLC | $6.7B |
| 26 | Northrop Grumman Systems Corp. | $6.7B |
| 27 | Texas Workforce Commission | $6.5B |
| 28 | Honeywell Federal Manufacturing & Technologies, LL... | $6.4B |
| 29 | North Carolina Department Of Public Instruction | $5.8B |
| 30 | Government Of The Virgin Islands | $5.4B |
Showing 30 of 30 results