House Republican havoc has begun
As expected, Republicans have already been their war on government. First, they have revived the Holman rule, which will allow them to harass federal employees. Given that the rule was first proposed in 1876, it is not anything that is needed today. Republicans revived it in 2017, and it was promptly removed by Democrats because it is a ridiculous rule. According to Washington Post, Republicans call it “a critical check on the Biden administration.” Instead, it allows Republicans to undermine any federal agencies by using this outdated rule instead of passing laws that benefit the American people. As if this isn’t bad enough, their first vote was to gut the IRS.
Their goal with this vote is to gut the IRS so that it can’t go after big money tax dodgers like Donald Trump. The good news, according to Washington Post, is that it will die in the Senate. The Office of Management and Budget had a few choice words to say about this legislation: “House Republicans are making clear that their top economic priority is to allow the rich and multi-billion-dollar corporations to skip out on their taxes, while making life harder for ordinary, middle-class families that pay the taxes they owe.” They promised that President Biden will promptly veto any such bill the moment it crosses his desk. Adding to that sentiment, the (nonpartisan) Congressional Budget Office has determined that this legislation will add $114.4 billion to the deficit because of a reduction in collected taxes. Yet, Republicans claim to not want to raise the debt ceiling because of the deficit.
Republicans have always used the deficit as it fits their agenda and for no other reason. They have historically added more to the deficit than most Democratic presidents, yet they refuse to acknowledge or see that either. They word their actions as if they are helping the American people. Adrian Smith (R-NE), who lead the bill, claimed: “The last thing [Americans] need is more IRS agents knocking on doors to conduct audits.” Sure. How many of us have had that happen? Certainly not those of us who earn less than six figures. Those are the very people Republican seek to embrace and protect because they help them buy their way into office. Next, they will go after the DOJ, which will likely bite them in their collective ass.
As Politico reported, should Republicans attempt to go after the DOJ they are predicted to get nowhere. In fact, the quote of the day should be: “They’ll be told to pound sand.” Republicans are pursuing this avenue anyway, attempting to empower themselves to look at any and every agency it sees as “suspect.” Republicans are “suspect,” so they should begin by looking in the mirror. Former House General Counsel Stan Brand told Politico that the DOJ will simply “draw clearer ‘lines in the sand’ over what they will provide.” With Jim Jordan at the helm, this ridiculous notion is nothing short of “revenge” on behalf of Donald Trump. Jordan had best watch out for himself and stop worrying about Donald Trump.
Shirley is a former entertainment writer and has worked in the legal field for over 25 years