Matt Gaetz Leads House GOP Effort to Scuttle New FBI HQ Over Bureau’s ‘Nefarious Behavior’

Jennifer Bowers BahneyMar 21st, 2023, 4:27 pm
 
Matt Gaetz

Francis Chung/POLITICO via AP Images

Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) is leading the way for House Republicans who want to limit spending on the FBI’s new field office over what he calls the bureau’s “nefarious behavior.”

The ultra-conservative Florida Republican announced the “FBI Washington Field Office House Arrest Act” Tuesday, likening the bureau to a deadly disease.

“The cancer at the Washington Field Office has metastasized so large that the entire body is in critical condition,” Gaetz tweeted.

The bill would require the House to end all spending on the FBI’s new proposed headquarters outside the District of Columbia. It came about following investigations by the House Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government, chaired by Ohio’s Jim Jordan.

Gaetz said the subcommittee heard “disturbing testimony from FBI whistleblowers that the Washington Field Office is targeting Americans who oppose their corrupt political agenda.”

At this year’s Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), Gaetz called for total “defunding” and “abolishment” of the FBI, CDC, ATF, and DOJ “if they do not come to heel.” Gaetz and other Republicans have been critical of the law enforcement agencies they say unfairly target conservatives.

Bill co-sponsors include Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ), Rep. Dan Bishop (R-NC), Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ), Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), and Rep. Harriet Hageman (R-WY).

The FBI has yet to comment on the bill.

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