More talk of defunding?
On January 18, Georgia's most divisive Republican politician - Marjorie Taylor-Greene appeared on Fox with Sean Hannity and shared that she's being reinstated to House Oversight Committees following the successful appointment of Kevin McCarthy to Speaker of the House.
Amongst the positions that MTG has been put forward for, are positions on the House Oversight Committee, and the Homeland Security Committee responsible for matters including the border crisis - a pet topic of Taylor-Greene and numerous other Republicans who blame the Biden Administration for the current state of affairs.
Commenting on the border crisis in particular, MTG had this to say:
“(The committee) will investigate the Biden administration’s violations of our laws and fund (and defund) programs to defend our border and American sovereignty.”
Stripped of committee assignments
The news of MTG being reinstated to oversight positions, comes little more than a year after Taylor-Greene was stripped of all committee assignments after all Democrats and 11 Republicans voted in favor of this action. MTG had openly advocated for violence against certain members of the senate, prompting the debate.
Throughout the lengthy process of getting Kevin McCarthy installed as Speaker of the House, MTG remained one of his most vocal advocates, while other Republicans including Matt Gaetz of Florida were dismissive of the California Republican. It's rumored that MTG was such a staunch supporter of McCarthy, precisely because he'd promised that she'd be reinstated to oversight committees if he were elected.
It seems that Taylor-Greene has now got what she asked for!
Is defunding the answer to everything?
It's notable that since the new year started, Taylor-Greene's answer to all the issues she tackles, seems to be to defund individuals or entities. So far this year, she's supported a bill to withdraw funding of 87,000 new IRS agents who were to be recruited to investigate tax evasion in the United States.
She also recently called for defunding of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) after they introduced a new law banning pistol braces - a measure that MTG claims is an erosion of constitutional freedoms and the American right to bear arms.
Most recently, Taylor-Greene has again called for defunding - this time of the special counsel appointed by Attorney General Merrick Garland, that is currently investigating the one-term former President Donald Trump for his involvement in the January 6 Insurrection, and for allegedly removing classified documents from the White House.
The proposed response to defund other federal bodies associated with the border crisis and the out-of-control immigration at the southern border with Mexico seems to be just the latest example where MTG has decided that defunding is the answer.
Whether she'll get the opportunity to actually remove funding from any federal body or individual to advance her own political agenda, remains to be seen. Meanwhile it is now down to House Leadership to determine if they're in agreement with MTG being reinstated to oversight committees at all.
Do you think that Marjorie Taylor-Greene deserves to be reinstated to oversight committees? Do you think that defunding is an effective tactic for dealing with political issues? Let me know your thoughts in the comments section below.
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