Visualizing the Trillions: Mapping U.S. Federal Expenditures

With today’s rapidly evolving political landscape, I chose to explore how U.S. federal tax dollars have been allocated over the past 10 years—and how those priorities have shifted with each administration. This report highlights patterns in United States federal government spending and reveals which programs are prioritized each year.

Inspiration

The visual style and storytelling flow were inspired by The Washington Post—clean layouts, journalistic tone, and data-driven insights.

Key Features of the Report

1. CoPilot Narrative Integration
To bring the data to life, I incorporated Microsoft’s CoPilot to generate dynamic narratives alongside charts. This added an AI-driven layer of commentary that helped contextualize trends and made the report feel more like a guided story than a static dashboard.

2. Decomposition Tree for Federal Hierarchies
The federal government’s budget is layered and complex. I used the decomposition tree visual to break down major spending categories into sub-agencies and programs. It allowed users to “follow the money” from top-level departments down to individual allocations—a perfect fit for visualizing how billions are distributed across government functions.

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