For months, the House GOP has tried to maintain the facade that it is concerned about crime, holding hearings in New York City and Washington, D.C. even as they have worked to defund federal law enforcement agencies like the FBI and Department of Justice. Republicans are at it again this week, targeting FBI director Chris Wray in a new bogus hearing.
Ever since former president Trump called on House Republicans to “defund the DOJ and FBI” in April, his MAGA allies in Congress have lined up to push for spending cuts and even all-out abolition for federal law enforcement agencies like the FBI in retaliation for his indictments. After decrying calls to defund the police in 2020 as outrageous and incomprehensible, these blatantly hypocritical calls to defund the FBI and other federal law enforcement agencies only further demonstrate that House Republicans are far more concerned with launching political stunts than ensuring public safety and the rule of law.
Top Republicans
Former President Trump
- June 2020: Trump Campaigned Against Calls to Defund the Police. In the lead up to the 2020 election, Donald Trump said he was “appalled” by calls to defund the police and his MAGA allies called the movement “outlandish.”
- April 2023: Trump Called On House Republicans To Defund the FBI and Department of Justice. In April 2023, Trump posted on his social media site with a call for House Republicans to defund federal law enforcement agencies: “REPUBLICANS IN CONGRESS SHOULD DEFUND THE DOJ AND FBI UNTIL THEY COME TO THEIR SENSES.”
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA)
- June 2020: McCarthy Denounced Moves to Defund Police Agencies. As the Californian reported, “Rep. Kevin McCarthy on Wednesday rejected calls to “defund” U.S. law enforcement agencies in the aftermath of the death of George Floyd, the man whose death at the hands of Minneapolis police has reinvigorated the Black Lives Matter movement at the center of nationwide protests.”
- March 2021: McCarthy Declared Defund The Police Efforts “Catastrophic.” “Remember last year when liberal cities across the country defunded their police departments to catastrophic effect?“ [Speaker Kevin McCarthy, 3/4/21]
- June 2023: McCarthy Expressed Support For Eliminating Funding For A New FBI Headquarters In Retaliation For Trump’s Indictment. After Trump’s indictment, McCarthy signaled support for using the appropriations process to eliminate funding for the FBI’s new headquarters: “I don’t think that’s the best use of money. I don’t think one centrally located huge FBI should be the best place.” McCarthy also tweeted, “The FBI shouldn’t be asking for a new $4 billion palace in the DC Metro area when they aren’t even focused on their core missions, like cracking down on financial crime and human trafficking.”
Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY)
- June 2020: Comer Ripped ‘Defund the Police’ Efforts As “Probably The Dumbest Thing That I’ve Ever Heard Of.” “[I]t troubles me deeply to see on the news movements in some of the cities and even references by some of my colleagues in Congress to defund the police. Of all the things that I’ve heard in my 3-1/2 years in Congress that I disagree with, that I think isn’t a very good policy, I think the movement to defund the police is probably the dumbest thing that I’ve ever heard of. And it bothers me deeply, because we have to have law enforcement, especially in times where there’s a lot of anxiety, there’s a lot of disagreement, and we need to maintain law and order. And our law enforcement personnel put there [sic] lives on the line every day. So I want to go on the record, and I hope that every one of my colleagues in Congress will go on the record, to say that we strongly support our men and women in law enforcement and we certainly, certainly never want to defund the police.” [Congressman James Comer, 6/11/20]
- May 2023: Comer On Federal Law Enforcement: “Cut Their Budgets And These Positions To The Bone.” “James Comer: We’re going to have to hold these agencies accountable. That’s the only way to rein them in, with the Democrats controlling the White House, with the media turning a blind eye and not providing any type of investigative reporting or checks and balances, or even accurate reporting on the corruption and the wrongdoing. We’re going to have to cut their budgets and these positions to the bone. We have tools in our new rules package to do that with the Holman rule. And the only way… We can do it all day long. People are talking about impeach, impeach. Well, the Senate won’t convict. The one thing that the Senate can do, is get our backs and help us cut the FBI positions, halt their expansion, and do whatever we can with the power of the purse until they resign, and we get new, competent leadership in these government agencies.” [The Glenn Beck Program, 5/22/23; AUDIO]
- Comer Called For Mass Firings And “Completely New Faces” At The FBI. “James Comer: I think the American people are starting to see there is a two-tier system of justice, and they want reform. And the only way that’s going to happen is to get rid of the people at the top, and not just the Attorney General, and not just the FBI director, but the next level of leadership, too. We need completely new faces in our intelligence committee in the Department of Justice.” [The Glenn Beck Program, 5/22/23; AUDIO]
Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH)
- 2020: Jordan Said Defunding The Police & Border Patrol Would Lead to “Crime, Violence, and Mob Rule.” During a speech at the 2020 Republican National Convention, Jordan denounced calls to “defund the police, defund border patrol” as enabling “crime, violence, and mob rule.” [Business Insider, 8/24/20]
- April 2023: Jordan Vowed to Defund the Police Over Donald Trump Indictment. During an interview on Fox News, Jordan said “We control the power of the purse, and we’re going to have to look at the appropriation process and limit funds going to some of these agencies, particularly the ones who are engaged in the most egregious behavior.” When pushed if he was referring to the DOJ and FBI, Jordan responded, “yes.” [Newsweek, 4/3/23; Rolling Stone, 4/2/23]
- May 2023: Jordan Called For Defunding The FBI. “Jim Jordan: First of all, go at it through the appropriations process. I mean, that’s where we ultimately have the authorities is the power of the purse, and we tell them, ‘Well, you’re not going to get money for certain things. You can’t use money for certain things.’ We’re going to restrict the amount, the overall amount. We may cut how much money goes there. We have to look at all those factors. That is the ultimate power that you have.” [“Mornings With Maria,” Fox Business, 5/25/23]
- June 2023: Jordan Directed Staff To Work On Restricting Funds For The DOJ and FBI. According to the Wall Street Journal, Jordan “directed his staff to work with the Appropriations Committee on riders to restrict funds for the Justice Department and the FBI, efforts that were under way even before the indictment, according to a person familiar with the matter.” [Wall Street Journal, 6/14/23]
Homeland Security Committee Chairman Mark Green (R-TN)
- March 2023: The Far-Right Freedom Caucus, Which Green Is A Member Of, Proposed Funding Cuts to the FBI. In March 2023, the House Freedom Caucus released a budget proposal imposing drastic cuts to public safety that would “eliminate funding for 11,000 FBI personnel, including agents who investigate crimes.”
House Oversight Committee
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA)
- March 2021: Greene Denounced Efforts to Defund the Police. After voting against awarding the Capitol police with medals for defending the Capitol complex during the January 6 insurrection, Greene released a video on Facebook reportedly calling the medals “contradictory and hypocritical” alongside efforts by Democrats to “defund the police.”
- August 2022: Greene Called For Defunding the FBI. In August 2022, Greene tweeted a series of calls to dissolve federal law enforcement, tweeting: “DEFUND THE FBI!” Days later, she tweeted, “the FBI & DOJ needs to be defunded and stripped of power,” and later, “We must defund the FBI, dismantle the DOJ, and gut the agencies of political biases and persecutions.”
- August 2022: Greene Sold “Defund The FBI” Shirts. As early as August 2022, Greene began selling t-shirts and hats labeled “defund the FBI” and “proud Christian nationalist” on her online store.
- June 2023: Greene Introduced Legislation To Defund DOJ Special Counsel Jack Smith In Retaliation For Trump’s Indictment: “This morning, I’m writing an appropriations rider to DEFUND Special Counsel Jack Smith’s office and entire investigation. I will not vote for ANY appropriations bill to fund the weaponization of government. I hope every one of my Republican colleagues will join me.” [Twitter, 6/12/23]
Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO)
- April 2021: Boebert Denounced Efforts to Defund the Police. After voting against awarding the Capitol police with medals for defending the Capitol complex during the January 6 insurrection, Boebert tweeted, “Just know, I will ALWAYS #BackTheBlue” and accused her Democratic colleagues of wanting to “disarm the populace and defund the police.”
- August 2022: Boebert Called On the House GOP To “Defund” The FBI. Boebert tweeted a video of herself stating, “the Department of in-Justice needs to be cleaned out.” She later tagged the FBI in a tweet stating, “the GOP majority must defund all forms of tyranny throughout Biden’s government.”
Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ)
- June 2020: During A District Visit, Gosar Said He Opposed Defunding Police. During a district visit, Gosar reportedly said he did not support defunding police departments. He later tweeted, “Democrats want to defund the police.”
- August 2022: Gosar Said “We Must Destroy The FBI.” “The FBI raid on Trump’s home tells us one thing. Failure is not an option. We must destroy the FBI. We must save America. I stand with Donald J. Trump.” [Twitter, 8/8/22]
Rep. Scott Perry (R-PA)
- October 2020: Perry Campaigned Against Efforts To Defund The Police. During the 2020 election cycle, Rep. Perry ran an ad falsely accusing his challenger of “supporting efforts to defund the police movement.” Independent fact checkers rated his claims false.
- March 2023: The Freedom Caucus, Which Perry Chairs, Proposed Funding Cuts to the FBI. In March 2023, the House Freedom Caucus (chaired by Perry) released a budget proposal imposing drastic cuts to public safety that would “eliminate funding for 11,000 FBI personnel, including agents who investigate crimes.”
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL)
- October 2020: Luna Called Defunding The Police “Dangerous.” During a debate, Luna said “not all officers are bad” and reportedly “called the defund the police movement ‘dangerous.’”
- March 2023: The Far-Right Freedom Caucus, Which Luna Is A Member Of, Proposed Funding Cuts to the FBI.. In March 2023, the House Freedom Caucus released a budget proposal imposing drastic cuts to public safety that would “eliminate funding for 11,000 FBI personnel, including agents who investigate crimes.”
- June 2023: Luna Proposed Eliminating The Position Of FBI Director. “But what we can do as Congress is we can officially defund the [FBI] Director’s position and that’s something that we’re also looking at doing via the Holman rule…that means we’ve effectively eliminated his salary and thus his position.” [Fox News, 6/14/23, VIDEO]
Rep. Eric Burlison (R-MO)
- March 2023: The Far-Right Freedom Caucus, Which Burlison Is A Member Of, Proposed Funding Cuts to the FBI. In March 2023, the House Freedom Caucus released a budget proposal imposing drastic cuts to public safety that would “eliminate funding for 11,000 FBI personnel, including agents who investigate crimes.”
Rep. Kelly Armstrong (R-ND)
- September 2022: Armstrong Opposed A Bill Supposedly Because It Supported Defunding The Police. “Rep. Kelly Armstrong, R-N.D., said the bill is ‘dangerous’ because it explicitly allows these workers to operate independently from police, and called it a ‘Trojan horse’ for the ‘defund the police’ movement.” [Fox News, 9/22/22]
- May 2023: Armstrong Questioned Whether The FBI “Really Needs More Funding.” “The only people that think the FBI is just a scrappy, little upstart organization that really needs more funding is apparently the House Democrats. Here’s what I’ve recognized in my entire career dealing with the FBI: They’re very well resourced, and they will continue to be very well resourced.” [Fox News, 5/17/23]
Rep. Gary Palmer (R-AL)
- March 2023: The Far-Right Freedom Caucus, Which Palmer Is A Member Of, Proposed Funding Cuts to the FBI. In March 2023, the House Freedom Caucus released a budget proposal imposing drastic cuts to public safety that would “eliminate funding for 11,000 FBI personnel, including agents who investigate crimes.”
Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN)
- December 2020: Burchett Denounced “Defund The Police” As Part of Democrats’ So-Called “Socialist Agenda.” “More Democrats are being outwardly defiant of Pelosi but it’s not going to make the news: The national media wants everyone to think Democrats are in lockstep … (Democrats) have pushed this socialist agenda, defund the police, and other things the left wants to do, and Pelosi gives in to them.” [The Knoxville News Sentinel, 12/12/20]
- May 2023: Burchett Told Fox News Correspondents He Wants to Start “Cutting Funds To The FBI.” “The Congress is this country’s checkbook, and we can start cutting funds to the FBI. You know, they’ve bungled so many cases as of late and they continue to do so. … It’s this top level of arrogance [at the FBI] that we’ve seen, and it is the swamp. It does exist. And that’s what we’ll have to do, we’ll have to start cutting their checkbook a little bit just to get them to the table, if that’s what it takes. And I’m for that because they’ve just not done their duty.” [Fox Business, 5/15/23, VIDEO]
- June 2023: Burchett Proposed Defunding the Department of Justice In Retaliation for Trump’s Indictment. “We need to bring them down before the committee and if not they need to- at some point we need to talk about cutting their funding…this group is out of control, they’re rogue.” [Newsmax, 6/12/23, VIDEO]
Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ)
- March 2023: The Far-Right Freedom Caucus, Which Biggs Is A Member Of, Proposed Funding Cuts to the FBI. In March 2023, the House Freedom Caucus released a budget proposal imposing drastic cuts to public safety that would “eliminate funding for 11,000 FBI personnel, including agents who investigate crimes.”
- May 2023: Biggs: “Abolish[ing] Our Law Enforcement Agencies” Is “Unconscionable.” “It’s unconscionable to see pro-crime Democrats attempt to restrict, and in many cases, abolish our law enforcement agencies. That’s something you see in authoritarian regimes—not in the United States—and always results in communities being less safe. I cannot overstate my appreciation for our nation’s law enforcement, and will continue to exercise every tool I have to ‘back the blue.’” [Alabama Today, 5/23/23]
- May 2023: Biggs Tweeted “Defund And Dismantle The FBI.” [Twitter, 5/15/23]
- June 2023: Biggs Tweeted “Defund And Dismantle The FBI.” Again. “We ought to defund and dismantle the DOJ. I stand with President Trump. [Twitter, 6/8/23]
Rep. Clay Higgins (R-LA)
- November 2021: Higgins Called Defunding the Police “Absurd.” In a video interview published to his official YouTube channel supposedly calling out “absurdity of Defund the Police,” Rep. Higgins called continued endeavors to defund the police “the greatest threat to our nation’s ability to respond to emergencies.” [Congressman Clay Higgins YouTube, 11/1/21]
- March 2023: The Far-Right Freedom Caucus, Which Higgins Is A Member Of, Proposed Funding Cuts to the FBI. In March 2023, the House Freedom Caucus released a budget proposal imposing drastic cuts to public safety that would “eliminate funding for 11,000 FBI personnel, including agents who investigate crimes.”
Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL)
- May 2021: Donalds Opposed Defunding The Police. During an interview with Fox News, Donalds said, “ Defunding the police is only going to hurt the inner city…And you saw the bigger cities who are trying to reverse course right now because they’ve seen a disaster when crime increases, because you have less officers on the street following this radical idea of defunding the police.” [Fox News, 5/25/21, VIDEO]
- March 2023: The Far-Right Freedom Caucus, Which Donalds Is A Member Of, Proposed Funding Cuts to the FBI. In March 2023, the House Freedom Caucus released a budget proposal imposing drastic cuts to public safety that would “eliminate funding for 11,000 FBI personnel, including agents who investigate crimes.” Donalds has also defended former president Trump after his Manhattan indictment, tweeting: “I think it’s one of the worst uses of the justice system we’ve ever seen. This kind of two-tier prosecution, this gotcha mentality with the criminal justice system, is flat out wrong.”
House Judiciary Committee
Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ)
- 2021: Biggs Denounced Calls To Defund the Police As “Reckless” and “Destructive.” In a June 2021 letter to his Democratic colleagues, Biggs wrote: “we must defend the thin blue line and restore law and order,” denouncing “the reckless decisions to defund police forces.” He claimed that Republicans “condemned violence and been united against radical calls to defund the police,” and called for a hearing on the matter. [Congressman Andy Biggs, 6/16/21]
- 2022: Biggs Said He Would Prioritize “Defunding Some of the Bad Agencies, Including the FBI and DOJ. When asked about GOP priorities during a panel at CPAC, Biggs said, “That’s what you do, you start defunding some of these bad agencies. The FBI. The DOJ.” [MSNBC, 8/8/22]
- 2023: Biggs Introduced Legislation To Defund Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, Recoup Federal Funds. Less than a week before the Judiciary field hearing in Manhattan, Rep. Biggs introduced legislation prohibiting state and local law enforcement agencies from using certain federal funds or property seized through asset forfeiture to investigate Presidential or Vice-Presidential candidates. [The Arizona Republic, 4/13/23]
Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL)
- 2020: Gaetz Denounced Calls To Defund the Police As “Dangerous and Deadly.” In a June 2020 press release, Gaetz “denounced the left’s dangerous and deadly campaign to “defund the police,” displaying inflammatory tweets by activists promoting radical agendas that were retweeted and supported by progressive Democrat Members of Congress. [Congressman Matt Gaetz, 6/10/20]
- 2021: Gaetz Tweeted, Then Quickly Deleted, Suggestion To “Defund the FBI” Amid Ongoing Sex Trafficking Investigation By The Agency. In June 2021, Gaetz tweeted: “If Democrats want to defund the police, they should start with the FBI,” before deleting it minutes later. At the time, Gaetz was under federal investigation over allegations that he paid for sex with an underage girl after one of his close associates was charged with sex trafficking charges (and later imprisoned for 11 years). [Daily Mail (UK), 6/24/21; CBS News, 12/1/22]
- 2023: Gaetz: Defund and Get Rid of “Every Last One of Them.” “I don’t care if it takes every second of our time and every ounce of our energy. We either get this government back on our side or we defund and get rid of, abolish the FBI, the CDC, ATF, DOJ, every last one of them if they do not come to heel.” [MSNBC, 3/6/23]
Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX)
- June 2020: Roy Denounced Efforts to Defund The Police: “They Are Bat Crap Crazy.” During a House Judiciary committee hearing in June 2022, Roy condemned efforts to defund police forces in his district as “bat crap crazy,” stating “defunding law enforcement has consequences.” [Forbes, 6/20/22, VIDEO]
- September 2022: Roy Announced “Deep Dive” On Defunding The FBI. Roy suggested to reporters that he would “do a deep dive” on defunding the “witch-hunting” FBI in September 2022. [Politico, 9/26/22]
- January 2023: Roy Announced Plans to “Stop Funding” Border Patrol and the Department of Homeland Security. In a speech to the House, Roy said, “we’re going to have to stop funding a Department of Homeland Security that refuses to secure the border of the United States.” [Business Insider, 1/10/23]
- June 2023: Roy Joined Calls To Defund FBI Headquarters. During an Axios interview, Roy told reporters that eliminating funding for the FBI’s new headquarters would be a “fairly obvious” step.
Rep. Ben Cline (R-VA)
- 2021: Press Release: “Rep. Cline Opposes Defunding The Police.” In March 2021, Cline gave a speech on the House floor denouncing efforts to “defund and dismantle our police departments across the country.” His office published a video of the speech in a press release entitled, “Rep. Cline Opposes Defunding The Police.” [Congressman Ben Cline, 3/4/21]
- 2023: Cline Listed The FBI As A “Top Target” For Budget Cuts. In a March 2023 interview, Cline reportedly said that the FBI and ATF are reportedly “top targets” for budget cuts amid ongoing appropriations hearings, telling reporters, “I’ve seen the attorney general more often in Appropriations than I ever have in Judiciary. When you are talking about an agency’s budget, the agency head is usually quick to come up to Capitol Hill to answer questions.” [Axios, 3/15/23]
Rep. Dan Bishop (R-NC)
- 2022: When Asked If He Wanted to Defund the FBI, Bishop Said “Nothing Could Be Further From The Truth.” “Somebody said … you want to defund the FBI. Nothing could be further from the truth. But it needs to be organized so that it returns to its robust strength and fortitude as a law enforcement agency” [Politico, 9/26/22]
- 2023: Bishop Said He’s Focusing On “Immediate Cuts” to Reduce the “Weaponization of Government,” Referring To A House Judiciary Investigation Into the FBI and DOJ. In a March 2023 interview, Bishop told reporters “the focus of what we do in terms of immediate cuts should be reducing the weaponization of government,” a reference to Judiciary’s select subcommittee investigating the so-called weaponization of the federal government by the intelligence community, particularly the FBI. [Axios, 3/15/23]
Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY)
- 2020: “Absolute Wrong Thing To Do” Massie Denounced Calls to Defund the Police On Fox News. In June 2020, Massie took to Fox Business, claiming: “defunding the police is the absolute wrong thing to do. […] I think that should be left up to the state to legislate.” [Fox Business, 6/4/20]
- 2022: Massie Said “Congress Has the Power To Dissolve” The DOJ and FBI. In January 2022, Massie tweeted, “DOJ & FBI are creations of Congress. Congress has the power to dissolve them. The idea that they can choose which information to give Congress is an illusion perpetrated by them.” Months later, in an interview with Politico, Massie reportedly said “we’ve got some oversight to catch up on,” referring to the two agencies, and “accused the FBI of having ‘strained’ its relationship with House Republicans ‘by politicizing everything.” [Thomas Massie Twitter, 1/12/22; Politico, 9/26/22]
Rep. Chris Stewart (R-UT)
- May 2023: Stewart Said A “Growing Number” Of House Republicans Support “Disbanding” The FBI. “Just this morning, Republican Rep. Chris Stewart of Utah appeared on Fox Business and said there’s “a growing number” of GOP members who believe it’s “time to disband the FBI.” [MSNBC, 5/16/23]
Rep. Mike Johnson (R-LA)
- March 2023: The Far-Right Freedom Caucus, Which Johnson Is A Member Of, Proposed Funding Cuts to the FBI. In March 2023, the House Freedom Caucus released a budget proposal imposing drastic cuts to public safety that would “eliminate funding for 11,000 FBI personnel, including agents who investigate crimes.” Johnson has been pursuing baseless investigations into the FBI and supposed “radical leftist” influence on public education. He has spread conspiracy theories about federal involvement in school board meetings long disputed by fact checkers as wholly unsubstantiated.
Rep. Ken Buck (R-TX)
- March 2023: The Far-Right Freedom Caucus, Which Buck Is A Member Of, Proposed Funding Cuts to the FBI. In March 2023, the House Freedom Caucus released a budget proposal imposing drastic cuts to public safety that would “eliminate funding for 11,000 FBI personnel, including agents who investigate crimes.”
- May 2023: Buck Sponsored a Resolution Condemning Efforts to Defund the Police. Buck was the lead sponsor of a resolution condemning efforts to “defund or abolish the police.” The non-binding resolution passed the House 301 to 119 in May 2023.
Rep. Barry Moore (R-AL)
- March 2023: The Far-Right Freedom Caucus, Which Green Is A Member Of, Proposed Funding Cuts to the FBI. In March 2023, the House Freedom Caucus released a budget proposal imposing drastic cuts to public safety that would “eliminate funding for 11,000 FBI personnel, including agents who investigate crimes.”
Rep. Tom Tiffany (R-WI)
- March 2023: The Far-Right Freedom Caucus, Which Green Is A Member Of, Proposed Funding Cuts to the FBI. In March 2023, the House Freedom Caucus released a budget proposal imposing drastic cuts to public safety that would “eliminate funding for 11,000 FBI personnel, including agents who investigate crimes.”
Rep. Troy Nehls (R-TX)
- March 2023: The Far-Right Freedom Caucus, Which Nehls Is A Member Of, Proposed Funding Cuts to the FBI. In March 2023, the House Freedom Caucus released a budget proposal imposing drastic cuts to public safety that would “eliminate funding for 11,000 FBI personnel, including agents who investigate crimes.”
Weaponization Subcommittee Member Greg Steube (R-FL)
- March 2023: The Far-Right Freedom Caucus, Which Steube Is A Member Of, Proposed Funding Cuts to the FBI. In March 2023, the House Freedom Caucus released a budget proposal imposing drastic cuts to public safety that would “eliminate funding for 11,000 FBI personnel, including agents who investigate crimes.”
Weaponization Subcommittee Member Harriet Hageman (R-WY)
- March 2023: The Far-Right Freedom Caucus, Which Hageman Is A Member Of, Proposed Funding Cuts to the FBI. In March 2023, the House Freedom Caucus released a budget proposal imposing drastic cuts to public safety that would “eliminate funding for 11,000 FBI personnel, including agents who investigate crimes.”