GOP Controlled House Takes Action After FBI's Politicization Is Exposed, Move To Slash A BILLION From Budget

The Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives moved forward on new legislation Friday to slash funding to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) by $1 billion to bring the agency to heel and quash politicization within it.

According to Fox News, the House Appropriations Subcommittee approved the Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies funding bill for 2024 in a party-line vote. The bill is more aggressive than the spending deal House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) signed on to with President Joe Biden by maneuvering funds to the FBI into alignment with 2022 levels.

At Quantico, the FBI will see a nine percent drop in funding cutting the bureau's spending from $11.3 billion in FY23 to $10.3 billion in FY24. A large portion of the cuts will be a $400 million reduction in bureau salaries and expenses.

But crucially, the bill openly and explicitly prohibits the FBI from carrying out any politically sensitive investigations until the Dept. of Justice creates a policy to allow non-partisan staff to oversee them.

"the bill appropriates $58.4 billion for programs under the jurisdiction of the committee, a $23.8 billion cut compared to the current fiscal year. It eliminates 14 'diversity, equity and inclusion' programs in the covered agencies, cuts spending on 'wasteful' climate change programs, and saves more than $50 million by ending the Biden administration’s plan to replace auto fleets at the Department of Commerce and Department of Justice with electric vehicles."

Rep. Matt Cartwright (D-PA), who is a member of the subcommittee, accused Republicans of using the bill to "defund law enforcement," claiming it "takes funding away from programs that create good jobs." Subcommittee Chairman Hal Rogers (R-KY) did agree that the bill is "austere," but as the bill summary explained, it's about "right-sizing agencies and programs."

In an interview with Fox Business on Thursday, Congressman Andy Biggs (R-AZ) suggested to 'The Bottom Line with Dagen & Duffy' that this is just one of four different measures the House can take to rein in the FBI.

He wrote on Twitter, "Here's what we can do to make real changes at the FBI: 1) Impose the Holman Rule to remove bad actors. 2) Block construction of the FBI's new Taj Mahal-esque facility. 3) Strip FBI funding in appropriations bills. 4) Conduct hearings to expose rogue FBI behavior."

Overall he stressed a need to show the American people, "Just how far gone and politicized the FBI has become."