Former Alabama Sen. Richard Shelby was roasted as the king of congressional pork in a report released by a government watchdog on Thursday that “honored” Shelby for being responsible for more than $666 million in earmarks last year.

Citizens Against Government Waste gave the former longtime senator “The Whole Hog Award” for “18 earmarks costing $666,406,000, by far the highest amount of any member of Congress.”

The group released the report, “The 2023 Congressional Pig Book,” on Thursday. The report contains a database of all the line items in appropriations bills “that designates tax dollars for a specific purpose in circumvention of established budgetary procedures.”

Shelby’s earmarks were 23 percent more than the second-highest lawmaker on the list, retired Sen. Jim Inhofe of Oklahoma, who received 63 earmarks costing $541,376,000, according to the report.

In order to be labeled as pork, according to the report, the earmarks must meet one of seven criteria:

• Requested by only one chamber of Congress;
• Not specifically authorized;
• Not competitively awarded;
• Not requested by the President;
• Greatly exceeds the President’s budget request or the previous year’s funding;
• Not the subject of congressional hearings; or,
• Serves only a local or special interest.

Efforts to reach Shelby were unsuccessful, but the retired senator addressed the criticisms of his earmarks last year, maintaining that the projects are not examples of wasteful spending.

“Throughout my time in Congress, I have worked hard to secure funding that benefits Alabama and the nation,” Shelby said. “My efforts in the [2022] omnibus were no different. Each of my spending requests were meritorious, and I am proud of the investments being made in my home state. I have long-believed that Congress is closest to the people and should not cede its Constitutional power of the purse to the President and unelected bureaucrats when it comes to these decisions.”

Shelby obtained funding for 16 projects in last year’s budget. The largest was $132.7 million for improvements to the Port of Mobile, part of a modernization and expansion of the port. In an announcement in March, Shelby said the money was for the design and construction of docks, wharves, and piers, and for land acquisition and site development.