(DailyVantage.com) – House Republicans are considering using a rule to cancel the salaries of Biden administration officials as the conservative faction seeks to make a new push to impeach Attorney General Merrick Garland and remove FBI Director Christopher Wray. House Republicans could even attempt to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas or even President Biden.
While the GOP is divided on whether to impeach these prominent officials, some Republicans are floating the proposition of an alternative way to target the federal employees using the Holman Rule, which could reduce “the number and salary of the officers of the United States.” Since there is disagreement on whether high crimes and misdemeanors, the bar for impeachment, have been met, cutting salaries due to a perception of negligence or failing to follow executive procedures could be a move the GOP is united on.
“If we’ve got a problem [that is] not high crimes and misdemeanors, the proper procedure is to cut his salary in the appropriations process,” Republican Rep. Ken Buck of Colorado, a member of the House Freedom Caucus and House Judiciary Committee, told Politico. While he stands against cutting appropriations to the Department of Justice, he believes that the salary of officers within said administration would be appropriate to target.
Already, Buck was quoted by Politico as saying, “I’m not in favor of cutting DOJ,” which could restrict which conservative measures are approached against Biden administration officials. With a slim majority in the House of Representatives of only 222 members—four above the threshold—Republicans will need to have a united front that they can agree on in order to accomplish their objectives.
Already, the judiciary committee will be bringing Christopher Wray to testify. Chaired by Republican Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, a founding member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, questions could cover everything from the Durham report on the Trump-Russian collusion narrative to the allegations that the FBI has been targeting Catholic Americans, as well as any potential misconduct from the Biden family in its business dealings.
Republicans are setting the stage ahead of these actions, and with a general election just over a year away, they will need to remain careful in their actions in order to retain a majority in the lower chamber.
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