House Republican seeks to defund Trump prosecutions through appropriations process.
House Republicans Target Criminal Investigations into Former President Donald Trump
House Republicans are exploring various strategies to address the ongoing criminal investigations into former President Donald Trump. One lawmaker, Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-GA), plans to leverage the annual appropriations process to defund these prosecutions as Congress reconvenes next month.
Rep. Clyde intends to introduce two amendments aimed at prohibiting the use of funds for the prosecution of any major presidential candidate leading up to the 2024 election. One amendment would restrict funds for federal prosecutions, while the other would target state prosecutions. These measures are part of the Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies appropriations bill, one of 12 spending bills that must be passed by Congress before the September 30 deadline to fund the government.
Protecting Tax Dollars and Election Integrity
In a statement, Rep. Clyde emphasized that American taxpayers’ hard-earned money should not be used to support what he referred to as the “radical Left’s nefarious election interference efforts.” He specifically mentioned Trump’s four criminal cases, asserting that these charges are intended to smear and hinder the former president’s ability to campaign effectively. Rep. Clyde believes that such overt election interference undermines both the Republic and the fair system of justice.
Trump currently faces 91 criminal charges across four investigations, which he and his GOP allies on Capitol Hill have criticized as partisan exercises. The charges range from falsifying business records to obstruction related to his attempts to overturn the 2020 election results.
Rep. Clyde argues that it is crucial for Congress to utilize its power of the purse to safeguard the integrity of elections and prevent prosecutors from targeting top presidential candidates. He stated, “The American people get to decide who wins the White House — not Deep State actors who have shamelessly attacked Donald Trump since he announced his first bid in 2015.”
While the specific language for the amendments has not yet been drafted, Rep. Clyde plans to introduce the legislation during the House Appropriations Committee’s CJS markup in September.
Challenges and Conservative Priorities
It remains uncertain how much support the two amendments will garner among House Republicans. Nevertheless, these proposals represent the latest endeavor to incorporate conservative priorities into the annual spending bills.
Congress must pass its budget by the end of September to avoid a government shutdown when the new fiscal year begins on October 1. Budget disagreements often prolong the process as both parties contend over legislative priorities, with a final agreement typically reached at the last minute.
Before the August recess, the House managed to pass only one of its 12 spending bills. With House lawmakers returning on September 12, they have a limited window of 18 days to pass a budget.
Typically, lawmakers agree to a continuing resolution that maintains current spending levels until a broader agreement is reached. However, some hard-line conservatives have already dismissed this approach, expressing their willingness to risk a government shutdown in order to pass a more conservative budget.
Members of the House Freedom Caucus have vowed not to support a stopgap spending measure unless it includes several policy wins. These demands include passing the House GOP border security bill, addressing the “unprecedented weaponization” of the Justice Department, and ending the implementation of “cancerous woke policies” at the Pentagon.
In a letter outlining their stance, caucus members wrote, “Any support for a ’clean’ Continuing Resolution would be an affirmation of the current FY 2023 spending level grossly increased by the lame-duck December 2022 omnibus spending bill that we all vehemently opposed just seven months ago.”
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