Jim Jordan Demands Extensive Budget Cuts to ‘Out-of-Control’ Federal Agencies That Violate ‘Fundamental Civil Liberties’

One of the House’s most powerful Republicans, Congressman Jim Jordan, is using his perch as the chairman of the Judiciary Committee as well as of the subcommittee on the weaponization of the federal government to advance his agenda of disempowering several executive branch agencies he accuses of bias, overreach, and abuse of power. His plans involve using Congress’s power of the purse to hobble these agencies — even cutting the salaries of their leaders.In a letter sent to the chairwoman of the House Appropriations Committee, Congresswoman Kay Granger, Mr. Jordan details a number of spending cuts, including salary reductions and reforms that could rein in these “out-of-control” agencies.Mr. Jordan in his letter details specific spending cuts and legislative language. One of the most important provisions for Mr. Jordan is the language that states no funds “shall be used to conduct a politically sensitive investigation until the Department of Justice establishes a policy requiring non-partisan career staff to oversee such investigations.”This language is borne of the recent allegations that staff appointed by President Biden to the DOJ interfered in the federal investigation into Hunter Biden that was conducted by the United States attorney for Delaware, David Weiss. Two whistleblowers from the Internal Revenue Service claim that Mr. Weiss was significantly hampered in his ability to bring charges and pursue leads in jurisdictions other than his own when he sought greater authority from DOJ officials. The IRS whistleblower allegations inspired another provision Mr. Jordan offers to Ms. Granger, which stipulates that no federal funds shall be spent for any agency that “retaliated against a whistleblower.” One of the IRS agents who has claimed there was wrongdoing on the part of Mr. Biden’s DOJ has said he and his team faced retribution from superiors after they legally informed Congress of the alleged interference. Republicans in Congress, in both their campaigns last year and in their new position as the House’s governing majority, have made a significant issue about the increase in border crossings from Mexico, which has led Mr. Jordan to include a number of budget requests related to border security enforcement, deportations, and immigration courts. Mr. Jordan asks Ms. Granger to include language in her spending bills that would withhold funding from agencies within the DOJ until any and all communications related to the termination of immigration judges are turned over to his committee. This comes as the Judiciary Committee is investigating whether Mr. Biden’s executive agencies fired a number of immigration judges, who decide the fate of migrants’ applications for asylum, who were appointed by President Trump and were more inclined to deport those who sought asylum. Republicans in recent months have also taken issue with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives’s implementation of an executive rule that would ban the use of pistol braces, accessories that can be strapped to the backs of firearms to lengthen them and allow for the shooters to fire more accurately. It is a subject that has united the entire conference, from the conservative Freedom Caucus to GOP leadership. Mr. Jordan includes in his letter a provision that would bar the ATF from implementing “any part” of that pistol brace rule. Republicans have also recently gone on a full-blown offensive against the Biden administration’s policy of reviewing citizens’ social media accounts. Just this month, a district court judge in Louisiana, Terry Doughty, blocked the executive branch from communicating with tech companies about reining in what they call mis- or disinformation. Republicans in the House would like to make that judge’s order a permanent aspect of their budget proposal. Mr. Jordan asks that Ms. Granger prevent any and all funds from being spent on the review of social media accounts, as well as cutting federal funding for all governmental and non-governmental organizations that are “engaged in speech suppression.”“Our oversight and legislative efforts to date have informed these proposals, which will hold the federal government accountable to the American people,” Mr. Jordan writes to Ms. Granger. “By utilizing the power of the purse, Congress can ensure that the federal agencies are working for the people of this country—not weaponized against them. These proposals are just a beginning.”

Jim Jordan Demands Extensive Budget Cuts to ‘Out-of-Control’ Federal Agencies That Violate ‘Fundamental Civil Liberties’

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