The Republican-led house voted Tuesday to create a new subcommittee to investigate the alleged “weaponization” of the federal government.
The resolution passed 221-211 along party lines.
Ohio Republican Rep. Jim Jordan said it was about protecting the First Amendment while on the floor.
“This is about the First Amendment, something you guys used to care about. And I’d actually hoped we could get bipartisan agreement on protecting the First Amendment – the five rights we enjoy as Americans under the First Amendment,” he said.
“We don’t want to go after anyone, we just want it to stop. And we want to respect the First Amendment to the Constitution that the greatest country in the world has. That’s what this committee is all about, and that’s what we’re gonna focus on, that’s what we are going to do,” Jordan continued. Jordan also noted how parents have been labeled as possible domestic terrorists for opposing critical race theory in schools.
— Rep. Jim Jordan (@Jim_Jordan) January 10, 2023
Republican Florida Rep. Byron Donalds touched on the purpose of the committee while on MSNBC, saying it’s about holding the government accountable and exposing the government’s involvement in suppressing free speech while colluding with Twitter.
Democrats, however, have been outspoken in their opposition of the subcommittee, with Massachusetts Rep. Jim McGovern claiming the committee was an attack on law enforcement. (RELATED: House Ratifies New GOP Committee Chairs. Here’s Who They Are)
“Republicans claim to care about law enforcement, but this new committee is about attacking law enforcement. It’s about going after people,” McGovern said. “It’s about destroying people’s careers and lives. It’s about undermining the Department of Justice, defunding the police and settling scores on behalf of the twice-impeached and disgraced former occupant of the Oval Office.”
California Rep. Adam Schiff said the investigations “will do deep damage to our national security and only breed distrust with our national security professionals who will be reluctant to share with Congress the information policymakers need to protect our country.”
“The committee will also seek to discredit law enforcement like the FBI who are so important in the fight against domestic violent extremism,” he added.