An appropriate response or use of political power?
On January 16, Georgia Republican Marjorie Taylor-Greene took aim at the next political entity that she would like to see defunded - the Special Counsel appointed by Attorney General Merrick Garland, to investigate the one-term former president Donald Trump for his involvement in the January 6 Insurrection.
MTG vented on Twitter, where she called for an end to the 'weaponization' of the Department of Justice that she feels is victimizing Trump - her political mentor, and further suggested that an appropriate course of action would be to defund it.
MTG wants to defund anyone and anything she disagrees with
Her latest rant about defunding institutions and individuals whose cause she doesn't agree with follows a number of similar outbursts in recent days, following the appointment of fellow-Republican Kevin McCarthy as Speaker of the House.
Her first priority with McCarthy in power was to join fellow-Republicans in removing funding from the IRS that would have seen an additional 87,000 agents recruited to investigate tax evasion in the wider United States.
More recently, on January 13 she suggested that it would be appropriate to defund the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms after they introduced a law that bans pistol braces from being installed by gun owners. MTG clearly feels that such a law is a violation of second amendment constitutional rights and felt that the law was best tackled by defunding the force that introduced it.
It's now technically possible for Congress to suspend salaries
While some may dismiss MTG's calls as politically motivated bluster, it seems there's now a possibility for Congress to effectively defund individuals by stopping the salaries of government employees. Since taking the House majority, Republicans have reinstated the 'Holman Rule'. This allows for the funding of certain employees or programs to be cut by politicians.
Theoretically this means that funding for certain initiatives could be cut if the appropriate motions are approved by a majority.
Repeated calls to leave Trump alone
Whether the Holman Rule will allow for the investigation into the one-term President Trump to be defunded seems unlikely, in spite of repeated calls for this to happen. Another vocal Republican, Matt Gaetz of Florida also called for the investigation to be defunded back in November 2022. Gaetz has previously described the investigation into Trump as an "explicitly political exercise" which is being driven by the Democrat-led Federal Government.
Whether or not calls from Gaetz and Taylor-Greene will have any bearing on the investigation into Trump remains to be seen. Both seem to have their reasons for wanting to win favor with the former president.
MTG remains loyal to Trump as others jump ship
Marjorie Taylor-Greene remains steadfastly-supportive of Trump - mainly as she's rumored to be a leading candidate as his running-mate - other Republicans seem less inclined to ally themselves to Trump and it would seem from the outside that his power over the mainstream of the GOP is diminishing.
Meanwhile, Lauren Boebert of Colorado recently declared her admiration for Florida's Governor Ron DeSantis who is also hotly rumored to be considering a run for President and has bested Trump in recent polls, suggesting that many of the public prefer him too.
As such, whether the investigations into Trump proceed or not, it may be that MTG is soon looking for a new political ally at the top of the GOP, and other institutions and individuals to defund.
Do you think that Marjorie Taylor-Greene's repeated threats to defund different institutions and individuals serves any useful purpose? Is it more of a distraction from actually getting on with serving the citizens of Georgia who elected her? Let me know your thoughts in the comments section below.
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