GOP Lawmaker Rebukes Fellow Republicans on House Floor, Defends Biden Official: ‘Elections Have Consequences’
Rep. Mike Simpson (R-ID) slammed a measure just proposed by a fellow Republican that would reduce the salary of a Biden administration official to $1.
In recent weeks, some Republicans have introduced amendments to reduce the salaries of various executive branch officials to the paltry amount, though none have a good chance of being enacted.
On Thursday night, Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC) became the latest lawmaker to give it a try by taking aim at the salary of Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland.
“My amendment gives another member of the Biden administration’s paid employees a chance for volunteerism and doing well for mankind,” Norman began, before noting Haaland’s $221,400 salary. “She holds extreme land and energy views like support for the Green New Deal and opposition to the KeystoneXL pipeline. We are being forced to buy from OPEC countries that hate America that’s funding Hamas now. And that’s what this lady was for.”
Moments later, Simpson criticized Norman’s proposal.
“So far, I have not heard anything that is not a policy difference,” he said. “And again, I will repeat, elections have consequences. And again, I will tell you I don’t think this is constitutional. I don’t believe it’s ever been litigated, but it’s a way of getting around the fact we don’t have the ability to fire somebody within the administrative branch of government.”
Simpson went on to reference the case of Sam Brinton, a former Biden official who has been charged with stealing luggage on multiple occasions.
“Now, if this had been someone like the E.M. director that was caught stealing suitcases at airports and that kind of stuff, I got no problem with that,” he continued. “He needs to be fired. He was fired. But so far, I haven’t heard anything that would indicate that she is doing– that the secretary is doing any more than carrying out the policies for which she was hired. Again, elections have consequences. Instead of doing these types of amendments, why don’t we get busy and try to elect a new administration in about 14 months?”
Watch above via C-SPAN.
