Republicans are cheering after the White House warned Friday that GOP legislation would destroy thousands of government jobs. The only problem is that the GOP legislation has since been scrapped in favor of a clean stopgap bill.
Speaking at Friday’s daily press briefing, White House budget director Shalanda Young specifically warned that legislation House Republicans were trying to pass to avert a government shutdown would destroy jobs in allegedly vital agencies.
“Their bill includes devastating 30 percent cuts — you heard me — 30 percent cuts. And listen to what that means. It would eliminate 12,000 FBI agents, almost 1,000 ATF agents, and more than 500 local law enforcement,” she said.
Listen:
But instead of responding with terror, conservatives and Republicans were thrilled by the prospect of what Young described.
Their happiness stemmed from their longtime disgust with the FBI over its blatant corruption and longtime incompetence, as well as the ATF over its attacks on Americans’ gun rights.
Recall that the FBI spent years investigating then-President Donald Trump over the Democrats’ phony-bologna Russian collusion narrative. In more recent times, the FBI has gone after conservative parents and pro-life activists.
Plus, one critic argued, the federal government doesn’t need its own law enforcement team; states already have that covered.
“We don’t need a federal agency. Every state has its own law enforcement. Here in Texas the Texas Rangers can deal with any issue we may have and they have ZERO Ruby Ridge/ Waco events in their history,” the critic tweeted.
See more responses below:
That’s a good start.
— John Rich (@johnrich) September 29, 2023
Finally, some good news!!!
— Nothing Gold Can Stay (@deaflibertarian) September 29, 2023
Only 12,000? That’s a much lower number than needed, but it’s a good start to completely abolishing the FBI.
— Saving America (@SavingAmerica4U) September 30, 2023
That would be 12k fewer federal agents rounding up the political enemies of Democrats. You can see why Democrats disapprove.
— DougMD (@Doug__MD) September 30, 2023
Trim the fat! Maybe with the cuts and reduced staff, the agencies will get back to working for not against the American people.
— Hippiechick (@Hippiec48233066) September 29, 2023
Considering how corrupt the FBI has become, I don’t think a reduction in their ranks is a bad thing. But they should start at the top. Do we really need the ATF? As for local law enforcement, that is paid by local property taxes, not by the federal government. At least that is…
— 4realMaverick (@4real_Maverick) September 30, 2023
— sandy (@3Sandy7_) September 29, 2023
The bad news is the stopgap bill containing these provisions failed to make it through the House on Friday thanks to 21 Republicans siding with Democrats.
The dissenting Republicans said in statements that they were tired of kicking the can down the road vis-a-vis America’s finances and would only agree to a stopgap if it included far more and deeper spending cuts.
“For decades, the House has been derelict in duty, failing to pass appropriations bills and instead opting to kick the can down the road. I refuse to play that game,” Missouri Rep. Eric Burlison said in a statement to Fox News.
“Continuing Resolutions with long lead times allows the House to shirk responsibility until it becomes politically toxic to do anything but pass massive spending bills written by leadership no one has time to read. Promises made must be promises kept. I will not stand by and watch my country decompose,” he added.
Illinois Rep. Mary Miller was just as adamant about the need for Congress to get its financial house in order.
“I voted no on the ‘CR’ continuing resolution because I will not be part of the process to kick government funding down the road until the holidays, when Senate and House ‘insiders’ will agree to ram through some massive omnibus with Ukraine funding behind closed doors,” she said.
“I have directed the clerk to withhold my pay and I will vote on appropriations bills all day, every day, until we keep the promises that we made to hold Joe Biden and the DC Swamp accountable through our ‘power of the purse,'” she added.
21 Republicans slammed for joining Dems to vote down stopgap, trigger shutdown: ‘It’s a f–king democracy, it’s hard’ https://t.co/5VNQOlkR5W via @BIZPACReview
— BPR based (@DumpstrFireNews) September 30, 2023
Going forward, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is now reportedly trying to pass a “clean” stopgap bill that doesn’t contain any of its predecessor’s goodies.
“We will put a clean funding stopgap on the floor to keep government open for 45 days for the House and Senate to get their work done,” he told reporters Saturday.
“We will also, knowing what had transpired through the summer, the disasters in Florida, the horrendous fire in Hawaii, and also the disasters in California and Vermont. We will put the supplemental portion that the president asked for in disaster there too,” he added.
BREAKING: @SteveScalise says House to vote on clean 45 day stopgap today. With disaster aid. No Ukraine aid
— Erik Wasson (@elwasson) September 30, 2023
As for the elimination of FBI and ATF jobs, there’s always next time …
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V. Saxena is a staff writer with a decade of experience as a professional writer, and a lifetime of experience as an avid news junkie. He holds a degree in computer technology from Purdue University. Saxena also contributes to BizPac Review.
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