Legislation to slash funding for the Department of Justice and U.S. attorneys' offices has been passed by House Republicans opposed to what they consider a weaponization of those agencies against former President Donald Trump and conservatives.
The spending bill approved by a subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee would slash salaries and other expenses by 20% for the DOJ, and 11% for U.S. attorneys' offices, the New York Times reported.
According to the Times, the targeted policies — aimed to appease the most conservative GOP members — are "dead on arrival," with bipartisan negations likely ahead with Senate Democrats and the White House.
But the Times reported GOP lawmakers plan to force votes on proposals including reducing to $1 the salaries of Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas — as well as cut off pay entirely for Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
Mayorkas' office would take a $10 million hit. Funding for Ukraine would also be prohibited, including the use of taxpayer money to greenlight arms sales to Kyiv, the Times reported.
The bills would also contain conservative social policy dictates, including measures to bar the Pentagon from using any funds to promote critical race theory or to allow drag queen story hours on military bases, and would prohibit agencies from enforcing executive orders related to climate change issued by President Joe Biden, the Times reported.
The bills also prohibit agencies from allowing federal employees to take paid leave to obtain an abortion, the Times reported.
Rep. Matt Rosendale, R-Mont., has already announced he'd try to add a provision to the military spending bill to strip money for in vitro fertilization treatment, The Hill reported.
"The politically motivated and weaponized Department of Justice is restrained and will no longer follow the political whims of the Biden administration," said Rep. Hal Rogers, R-Ky., the Times reported. "The Federal Bureau of Investigation will be refocused on its core competencies, and numerous ill-advised rule-makings by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives that challenge constitutional rights will be stopped in their tracks."
Democrats unanimously opposed the legislation, charging Republicans with advancing measures that would undermine law enforcement efforts to deter crime. The White House has already said it would veto bills for the DOD, Homeland Security, and the State Department.
The Times reported the legislation is unlikely to be taken up by the Democrat-led Senate, and could face a fight even in a GOP-controlled House.
Fran Beyer ✉
Fran Beyer is a writer with Newsmax and covers national politics.
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