\n<\/p>\n

Former President Donald Trump<\/a> c<\/span>alled for Republicans<\/a> on Capitol Hill to cut funding for the FBI<\/a> and Justice Department<\/a> after his indictment, potentially affecting the GOP’s<\/a> tough-on-crime<\/a> messaging. <\/p>\n

Trump’s comments came not only amid his own criminal charges in New York but also broader conservative concerns about the “weaponization” of the legal and criminal justice systems. <\/p>\n

TRUMP CALLS FOR DEFUNDING FBI AND DOJ WHILE PARTY OPPOSES DEFUNDING THE POLICE<\/a><\/u><\/b> <\/p>\n

The former president said Congress should \u201cDEFUND THE DOJ AND FBI UNTIL THEY COME TO THEIR SENSES\u201d in a post on Truth Social<\/a><\/u> on Wednesday responding to the Justice Department\u2019s investigation of whether he mishandled classified documents at his personal residence and whether he incited the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. The post also came after Trump pleaded not guilty<\/a> on Tuesday to 34 counts of falsifying business records in New York. <\/p>\n

Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH)<\/a>, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, endorsed a similar following the initial reports about Trump’s New York indictment, saying Congress<\/a> could consider cutting the funding of federal agencies he thinks are interfering with elections <\/p>\n

\u201cWe control the power of the purse, and … we\u2019re gonna have to look at the appropriations process and limit funds going to some of these agencies, particularly the ones who are engaging in the most egregious behavior,\u201d Jordan said in an interview on Fox News. <\/p>\n

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA)<\/a> has already given Jordan permission to examine federal funding for prosecutors like Manhattan’s Alvin Bragg investigating Trump. <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m directing relevant committees to immediately investigate if federal funds are being used to subvert our democracy by interfering in elections with politically motivated prosecutions,\u201d McCarthy tweeted<\/a><\/u> on March 18. <\/p>\n

After Trump\u2019s arraignment Tuesday, McCarthy tweeted the investigation \u201cused federal funds\u201d and vowed \u201cBragg\u2019s weaponization of the federal justice process will be held accountable by Congress.\u201d <\/p>\n

Republicans have championed the message this year that Democrats and the Biden administration<\/a> are weak on crime after violent crime is up nationwide, especially in major cities, where Democrats have their main support base. Last year, Gallup<\/a><\/u> found that a record 56% of people<\/a> reported crime had gone up in their area, which was the highest uptick since the poll first started asking the question in 1972. A follow-up survey<\/a> in January<\/a><\/u> found that 72% of people expected crime to continue to rise this year. In the nation’s capital, homicides were up 30%<\/a><\/u> over last year. <\/p>\n

While the majority of Republicans have criticized Bragg<\/a>\u2019s case against Trump as politically motivated, experts and strategists are sounding the alarm over Trump\u2019s call to cut federal law enforcement money amid what appears to be a national crime wave. <\/p>\n

\u201cRepublicans, regardless of what they have said about the indictments and so forth, most of which I agree with, don\u2019t want the topic of the day to be Donald Trump. That\u2019s enough of a problem,\u201d said Doug Heye, a Republican strategist and former communications director at the Republican National Committee. \u201cWhen Trump then forces something like essentially saying defund the police, because when you\u2019re making grand pronouncements, nuance is lost. When Democrats have said, ‘Oh, I don\u2019t want to defund the police; that\u2019s not what I meant’ \u2014 Trump is potentially putting Republicans in that same position.\u201d <\/p>\n

Heye recommends Republicans, especially those in swing districts, should come out powerfully against Trump\u2019s defund the Justice Department and FBI message. <\/p>\n

<\/div>\n
\u201cThey absolutely should. Nuance gets lost in things like this. You can have hearings, you can investigate, but when you\u2019re talking about defunding the FBI, that\u2019s talking about defunding the police. That gets directly in the way of the rule of law messaging,\u201d Heye added. <\/p>\n
Of the 18 House Republicans who represent districts President Joe Biden<\/a> won in 2020, few of them have publicly rejected Trump\u2019s demand to defund law enforcement so far. According to PunchBowl News<\/a><\/u><\/i>, only Reps. Marc Molinaro (R-NY), Young King (R-CA), and Lori Chavez-DeRemer (R-OR) have made it clear they do not support Trump\u2019s calls to defund the Justice Department and FBI. <\/p>\n
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER<\/a><\/b> <\/p>\n
The comments from Trump come against the backdrop of a looming summer showdown over raising the debt limit<\/a>, which will include a lengthy battle over spending levels and priorities. House Republicans could attempt to cut funding for those federal agencies in major spending legislation, complicating the efforts of their narrow majority to pass a funding bill. In his bid to become House speaker, McCarthy promised holdouts the chamber would pass major cuts in fiscal 2024 appropriations bills. Senate Democrats and even Republicans also likely will not go along with any of those cuts. <\/p>\n
\u201cThat absolutely will never happen,\u201d said a Senate Republican aide who requested anonymity to speak candidly. \u201cWe already are dealing with an absolute mess on the House side with them trying to negotiate a debt ceiling increase. We do not need another issue like this haunting us in the next election.”<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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