The House GOP leadership spent $40,000 on brand-new congressional lapel pins for each of its members.

Every two years, all 435 members of the House of Representatives and the six non-voting members, get new congressional pins which are a security measure.

Ever since 1975, the U.S. Capitol Police have been recognizing members by those pins since they serve as a memento of their time on Capitol Hill.

Spouses and family members are allowed to get similar, though not identical, pins to identify them.

“It’s a thing,” Rep. Sean Casten (D-Illinois) told HuffPost. “It’s a memento for members and spouses.”

Even though House lawmakers received new pins in 2023, they were still given new ones on January 10.

Democrats were fast in publicly calling out Republicans for wasteful spending.

“Every Congressional session we get a new pin – it’s our ID on the floor for the next 2 years,” Casten wrote on X. “Today we’re getting a new pin,...