US House approves Republicans' probe into 'weaponisation' of govt

Republicans promise to use their new power in Congress to scrutinise what they say is a concerted effort by the government to silence and punish conservatives at all levels

A divided House voted on Tuesday to launch a wide-ranging investigation into federal law enforcement and national security agencies, as Republicans (GOP) promised to use their new power in Congress to scrutinize what they said was a concerted effort by the government to silence and punish conservatives at all levels, from protesters at school board meetings to former President Donald J. Trump.
 
On a party-line vote of 221 to 211 with all Democrats opposed, the House approved the formation of the Select Subcommittee on the Weaponisation of the Federal Government, which is to be chaired by Representative Jim Jordan, Republican of Ohio, the incoming chairman of the Judiciary Committee and a staunch ally of Mr. Trump.

 
Mr. Jordan, who was involved in Mr. Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election, has for months been investigating what he says is a bias in federal law enforcement against conservatives. 
 

“We have a duty to get into these agencies and look at how they have been weaponised to go against the very people they’re supposed to represent, how they have infringed on First Amendment liberties of the American people. And we’re going to do that,” Jordan said on Fox News on Sunday. “We’re going to do it in a way that’s consistent with the Constitution. But we’re going to do it vigorously. We’re going to do it aggressively. Because that’s our job.”

 
In a floor speech, Mr. Jordan said that his goal was not to target Democrats or law enforcement officers who have scrutinized Mr. Trump’s behavior. He said his interest was merely in “protecting the First Amendment” at a time when he said the right was being unfairly targeted.
 
“We don’t want to go after anyone,” he said. “We just want it to stop.” Still, the panel has such broad reach that it appeared positioned to become a main instrument for Republicans to go after the Biden administration, potentially prompting showdowns over access to highly classified information and the details of criminal inquiries.

 
The subcommittee will have open-ended jurisdiction to scrutinize any issue related to civil liberties or to examine how any agency of the federal government has collected, analyzed and used information about Americans. It also has authority to obtain some of the most sensitive secrets in the government, including information about covert actions that is usually the exclusive territory of the congressional intelligence committees.
 
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