Republicans promised their new “weaponization of the government” committee would get a budget to match the Jan. 6 investigation. So far, that’s not the case.
Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc/Getty Imageshad expected that their new subcommittee dedicated to probing the so-called “weaponization of the federal government” would have the same funding as the previous Congress’ efforts to investigate the insurrection at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
In fact, House Judiciary Republicans have officially requested only a $2 million per year increase in the House Judiciary’s budget for the new subcommittee’s efforts, alongside a $15 million “reserve fund” that could be tapped in an ongoing manner. The $2 million starting point is smaller than what Democrats spent on their investigation into the insurrection: more than $18 million, according to a senior congressional aide.
“The Committee on the Judiciary expects to have an aggressive oversight and legislative agenda in the 118th Congress,” Jordan writes in a copy of the budget request reviewed by. He asks for “a $2 million annual increase” in the House Judiciary’s budget, an amount to “meet the immediate needs of additional staff and resources” for both the new weaponization subcommittee and House Judiciary Committee more broadly.
Such an amount would cover the hiring of some researchers and lawyers, but falls short of the scale of the Jan. 6 Committee’s efforts. At its peak, the committee had employed roughly 50 investigators across five teams to carry out more than 1,200 interviews and depositions, according to a former committee aide. Its hiresseasoned prosecutors, as well as outside intelligence contractors to move aggressively during the committee’s 18 months of operation.
Jordan’s budget request leaves room, however, to scale his ambitions. He asks for “the ability to access up to an additional $15 million from the reserve fund” in order “to address ongoing and unforeseen needs” — an amount that, when added to the $2 million per year, would total $19 million, roughly equivalent to the Jan. 6 spend. He adds that the Judiciary Committee “may also require up to 50 additional staff slots.
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