House GOP Skips on Defunding Trump Special Counsel in Spending Bill

Special counsel Jack Smith speaks to members of the media at the Department of Justice building in Washington on Aug. 1, 2023. Saul Loeb/AFP

The House GOP has stopped short of halting the funding of the activities of special counsel Jack Smith, at least for the moment.

The House Appropriations Committee released a bill on June 25 to fund both the Justice and Commerce departments. Republicans have repeatedly accused the Department of Justice (DOJ) of being “weaponized” to target conservatives and, in particular, former President Donald Trump. The attorney general has pushed back against such claims.

House Republicans have called for using the power of the purse to defund Mr. Smith’s office, which has brought two criminal prosecutions against former President Trump over his handling of classified documents and his role in contesting the 2020 election results.

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) had earlier said that lawmakers were considering ways to “rein in” the special counsel, including using the congressional funding authority.

But he later told Politico that the House GOP would not defund Mr. Smith’s position, despite calls from some within his conference to do so.

“That’s not something you wave a wand and just eliminate the special counsel as a provision. It’s been part of the law, you know, the tradition in the lawyer system for 25 years,” he said in May.

Some Trump allies, including House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), have repeatedly called for Mr. Smith’s office to be defunded, along with the New York and Georgia state prosecutors who have charged former President Trump.

Although there is no provision to defund Mr. Smith’s operations in the appropriations bill, lawmakers on the House floor may have an opportunity to introduce an amendment to do so.

House Appropriations Committee Chair Tom Cole (R-Okla.) said in a statement that the $78.3 billion bill “prioritizes fiscal sanity and the liberties of the American people.”

The top-line figure is effectively 2 percent, or $1.28 billion, less than what was allocated for the 2024 fiscal year.

Of that, more than $36.53 billion is for the DOJ, a reduction of almost $988 million, or 3 percent, from the 2024 fiscal year.

Overall Budget Cuts

The bill also slashes the FBI’s budget by 3.5 percent, or more than $367.71 million, from the previous fiscal year. More than $10 billion is allocated for the bureau. It blocks funding for building the FBI’s new headquarters in Greenbelt, Maryland, and requires FBI interviews to be recorded.

The DOJ aspect of the legislation includes increasing oversight of the department’s grant funds and programs; requiring the reinstatement of the department’s China Initiative, which targeted the Chinese regime’s espionage activities; and preventing the DOJ from using funds to pay for abortions.

The bill would also undo the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives’ rules on privately made firearms and pistol braces.

Attorney General Merrick Garland called the funding cut “unacceptable.”

“This effort to defund the Justice Department and its essential law enforcement functions will make our fight against violent crime all the more difficult,” he said in a speech in Cleveland.

A markup of the bill is scheduled for June 26.

The White House took aim at the appropriations bill, saying it was anti-law enforcement.

“Yet again, this morning Republican officials attempted to defund law enforcement to the benefit of violent criminals and fentanyl traffickers, targeting federal agencies that are critical to stopping gun crime, terrorism, and child trafficking,” White House spokesperson Andrew Bates said in a statement.

The appropriations bill also funds the Department of Commerce and other agencies. The measure allocates almost $9.9 billion for the Commerce Department, 9 percent less than fiscal year 2024.