House Committee Subpoenas 15 Biden Cabinet Secretaries Over Alleged Scheme to 'Tilt the Scales' in 2024 Election
The chairman of the Committee on House Administration has subpoenaed the heads of 14 executive departments as well as the director of the Office of Management and Budget — all members of President Joe Biden's Cabinet — to obtain information about how each has implemented or plans to implement one of Biden's executive orders.
In a Thursday news release (full text below), the committee said that it had begun an investigation into Biden's Executive Order 14019, “Promoting Access to Voting,” soon after Biden signed it, which was in March of 2021, according to Fox News.
Committee Chairman Bryan Steil requested documents from the 15 Cabinet members on May 15 about what he called “Bidenbucks” and described as an “attempt by the Biden Administration to tilt the scales ahead of 2024,” and had received no response after nearly a month. Thus, the subpoenas.
Among other things, Biden's order requires that “[e]xecutive departments and agencies (agencies) should partner with State, local, Tribal, and territorial election officials to protect and promote the exercise of the right to vote, eliminate discrimination and other barriers to voting, and expand access to voter registration and accurate election information.”
In the cover letter accompanying the subpoenas, Steil wrote that his committee “has concerns about the implementation of E.O. 14019, particularly regarding its compatibility with provisions of the National Voter Registration Act (NRA) of 1993.”
His argument is that Congress — not the president — funds the executive departments and grants them the authority to engage in specific acts.
“Congress's delegation of authority to [the departments] does not include using funds and resources to provide Americans with voter registration materials,” he wrote.
The Wisconsin Republican told Fox in a statement that the order was a “scheme” designed to get the federal agencies to engage in “partisan activities” that Congress has never funded.
“[I]t’s no wonder Team Biden is using their authority and resources to target welfare populations with a federally funded get-out-the-vote effort,” Foundation for Government Accountability president and CEO Tarren Bragdon told Fox.
“If they are allowed to fully execute their plan, it could swing the election outcome,” Bragdon added.
In the Senate, a number of Republicans in November asked the White House for details about how the order was being carried out, and then later wrote a letter to Biden himself “admonishing” him for the administration’s lack of response.
“In April, a lawsuit challenging the executive order alleged it targeted key demographics to benefit the president’s political party and his own re-election,” Fox reported.
That suit by 27 Republican lawmakers was later dismissed, but has since been appealed to the Supreme Court.
You can read the news release from the Committee on House Administration in its entirety below.
Chairman Steil Subpoenas 15 Cabinet Members for Documents Related to ‘Bidenbucks’
Today, Committee on House Administration Chairman Bryan Steil (R-WI) issued subpoenas to 15 Biden Administration cabinet officials for documents related to the Biden Administration’s Executive Order on Promoting Access to Voting. President Biden’s Executive Order 14019 directs federal agencies to promote access to voting through the use of federal agency resources. Evidence already shows that the Executive Order partners federal employees with partisan advocates to register voters ahead of the 2024 elections.
The Committee on House Administration began an investigation into this Executive Order shortly after it was announced. Chairman Steil first requested documents related to the cabinet secretaries work related to E.O. 14019 on May 15, 2024 and, to date, has not received any materials in return.
“Elections are partisan, but our election administration should never be partisan. Allowing federal employees from the Biden Administration to flood election administration sites threatens election integrity and reduces Americans’ confidence,” Chairman Steil said. “This Executive Order is another attempt by the Biden Administration to tilt the scales ahead of 2024. I will continue working to provide transparency and accountability on this Administration’s latest scheme as Congress did not appropriate taxpayer funds for partisan activities.”
Read the full subpoena cover letter to the Administration officials here.
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