We knew that bad things were coming once the Republican Party reclaimed power in the US House of Representatives; albeit, by a razor-thin margin in their less-than-successful midterm elections.
However, I don’t think anyone realized, understood, or accepted just how bad things were going to get.
The New York Times is out with a new report that sheds terrifying light on the true severity of the situation as they confirm that House Republicans — who are now officially in control following a long battle to even secure a House Speaker — are preparing to put forth a new resolution this week with the purpose of creating a special Judiciary subcommittee that they say will focus primarily on the “weaponization of the federal government,” with a special interest in the FBI and the U.S. intelligence services.
House Republicans are, as expected, in full-on power-flexing mode after they finally secured a Speaker for their majority, following an unprecedented amount of ballots to get Kevin McCarthy where he finally is today. Already, they’re working to implement new rules, regulations, and various other unhinged changes in what seems to be an attempt to show the nation who’s “boss” now.
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But this comes at a grave price for this country.
McCarthy faced a long, hard, humiliating road to his Speakership, and reports have indicated that it came at a steep price for the California Republican — who allegedly had to promise concessions to far-right Freedom Caucus members. These desperate promises were said to include passing out chairmanships and creating new subcommittees to secure votes in his favor from extremists in the US House who weren’t supportive of his desperate run for House Speaker. Allowing these fringe members to zero in on the FBI and intel groups successfully opened Pandora’s Box, giving extremist Right-wing Republican members of the House potential access to some of the nation’s most sensitive intel that was previously protected from some of the worst hands this country has to offer.
This includes Right-wing Q-Anon Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene.
Back in February of 2021, Greene was effectively terminated from all of her Committee assignments — a move that was backed by 11 of her fellow House Republicans — due to “her past incendiary comments and apparent support of violence against Democrats,” according to reporting from NPR at the time.
Charlie Savage and Luke Broadwater with the Times note that if this new resolution passes in the House, it will serve as the power projected House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan needs to openly demand access to a slew of files, under the notion that the new subcommittee members need to review them.
The Times reports on the resolution:
It appears to “grant Mr. Jordan’s panel the power to receive the same highly classified information that intelligence agencies make available to their oversight committee, the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.
“Intelligence Committee members have access to some of the most sensitive secrets in the government, including information about covert actions, which are not shared with other lawmakers. Traditionally, House leaders tend to place on the intelligence panel members of their party they think are especially trustworthy not to disclose classified information.”
Savage and Broadwater pointedly warn, “While Mr. Jordan’s investigative unit will be housed within the Judiciary Committee, its 13 members — eight of whom would be Republicans — will not be limited to lawmakers on that panel.”
The biggest fear, though, is Greene — who was able to worm her way under McCarthy’s wing by serving as one of his loudest and most obnoxious proponents and supporters of his speakership. This devout loyalty has reportedly earned Marjorie her pick of the litter, so to speak, when it comes to the incoming House committees.
“Mr. McCarthy has already promised her a spot on the House Oversight Committee, and she broke with other far-right members to support his speakership bid from the first ballot, as did Mr. Jordan,” the newspaper warns. “Such a situation could result in lawmakers trying to scrutinize a Justice Department investigation as that inquiry potentially examines some of those same lawmakers’ conduct concerning the events of Jan. 6.”
Even Rep. Scott Perry, who is currently under investigation by the US Department of Justice according to multiple reports, may soon gain access to some of the nation’s most sensitive intel under the new House regime.
Perry was personally questioned about this possibility over the weekend, to which he responded, “Why should I be limited — why should anybody be limited just because someone has made an accusation? I get accused of all kinds of things every single day, as does every member that serves in the public eye. But that doesn’t stop you from doing your job. It is our duty and it is my duty.”
You can read the full, disturbing report from the New York Times here.
Featured image via Flickr/Gage Skidmore, under Creative Commons license 2.0
