President Biden’s use of taxpayer dollars to rig the 2024 election in Democrats’ favor is a whole new level of sinister — and only House Republicans possess the power to stop him.
Two months after taking office, Biden took the unprecedented step of ordering hundreds of federal agencies to interfere in state and local election administration. Under Executive Order 14019, all departments were required to use U.S. taxpayer money to boost voter registration and get-out-the-vote activities. The head of each department was directed to draft “a strategic plan” explaining how his or her agency intended to fulfill Biden’s edict.
Federal departments were also told to collaborate with so-called “nonpartisan third-party organizations” that have been “approved” by the administration to supply “voter registration services on agency premises.” Many of these groups are extremely left-wing, such as Demos and the ACLU.
The secrecy surrounding these “Bidenbucks” in the years since its enactment prompted House Republicans to seek further information about the directive and its implementation by federal agencies.
On March 29, 2022, for example, several GOP committee chairs sent a letter to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and Domestic Policy Council requesting a list of third-party organizations the administration is partnering with to register new voters, as well as the criteria for selecting such groups. They also demanded these entities provide copies of any “strategic plans” submitted by federal agencies to the White House, the statutory authority under which departments are authorized to conduct such activities, and cost estimates for carrying them out.
The OMB’s Shalanda Young responded to the requests later that year, claiming in a July 15 letter that Biden’s order fulfills the National Voter Registration Act. Young did not, however, address House Republicans’ other requests or provide copies of agencies’ “strategic plans.” The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and National Labor Relations Board also provided scant details about their compliance with Biden’s order in respective letters responding to a separate inquiry from House Republicans.
A spokeswoman for the House Committee on Administration told The Federalist that no federal agency has provided the committee with copies of the “strategic plans” required under Biden’s order.
Efforts by Senate Republicans to obtain information regarding Executive Order 14019 have also been met with silence. The administration has also routinely stonewalled attempts by good government groups to acquire these “strategic plans” by slow-walking its response to federal court orders and heavily redacting any related documents it released.
The Ball Is in House Republicans’ Court
Biden and his handlers aren’t going to forfeit any documents or information disclosing the unprecedented use of taxpayer funds to rig the 2024 election for Democrats willingly. That means it’s up to House Republicans to do something.
Ongoing negotiations over government funding provide the perfect opportunity to halt Biden’s federal electioneering scheme once and for all. Wisconsin GOP Rep. Bryan Steil’s ACE Act — which is awaiting action from the full House — already contains provisions that would gut Executive Order 14019; prohibit federal agencies from engaging in voter registration and mobilization activities; and force these agencies to turn over their “strategic plans” to Congress.
If Speaker Mike Johnson and House Republicans have any interest in stopping Biden’s weaponization of the federal government to boost Democrats’ get-out-the-vote machine, they must be willing to halt all federal funding until the aforementioned provisions are included in any spending bill that comes across their desks. Otherwise, Biden’s secret election-rigging scheme will derail the GOP’s electoral prospects for years to come.
Shawn Fleetwood is a staff writer for The Federalist and a graduate of the University of Mary Washington. He previously served as a state content writer for Convention of States Action and his work has been featured in numerous outlets, including RealClearPolitics, RealClearHealth, and Conservative Review. Follow him on Twitter @ShawnFleetwood
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