Marjorie Taylor Greene Draws ‘Line in the Sand’ in Defending Trump – Following former President Donald Trump’s indictment for attempting to illegally overturn the 2020 election, one of his closest allies in Congress quickly came to his defense, calling the charges politically motivated.
Marjorie Taylor Greene: What Did She Say on Donald Trump?
“America finds itself in a troubling situation, resembling authoritarian regimes rather than the beacon of freedom and democracy our founders valiantly fought to establish,” Georgia Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene wrote in a statement.
“Innocent individuals, including former President Donald J. Trump, are being unjustly targeted by a Department of Injustice and an FBI transformed into political hitmen, acting at the behest of the sitting president,” she added. “Special Counsel Jack Smith has abused his power, using his office to persecute President Trump, his aides, and ultimately, the American people. These actions are undoubtedly politically motivated, with clear intentions of interfering with the upcoming 2024 election.”
Greene, who was elected to Congress in 2020 and won reelection in the 2022 midterms, expressed that her support for the former president was “unwavering.” She further said that she would employ the “Holman Rule” to defund Jack Smith’s special counsel, while she has also introduced articles to impeach Attorney General Merrick Garland, claiming that he has “weaponized” the Department of Justice (DoJ).
“This is the line in the sand,” the firebrand congresswoman stated.
“This is nothing but a political assassination and I will not vote to fund a communist regime. I will not vote to fund a weaponized government while it politically persecutes not only President Trump but all conservative Americans. The Biden Department of Justice has gone rogue, and the FBI are their henchmen. Until we restore the FBI and the Department of Justice to the esteemed institutions they once were, I will not vote to fund these communist organizations that are doing the bidding of Joe Biden,” she continued.
Employing the Holman Rule
The proverbial line in the sand could be fortified with a little-known – and not widely understood – piece of legislation dating back to the 19th century.
The Holman Rule – which allows amendments to appropriations legislation that would reduce the salary of or fire specific federal employees, or cut a specific program – was reinstated during the 2017–2019 Republican-controlled 115th Congress.
It was named for Rep. William S. Holman (D-Indiana), and was initially used to eliminate patronage positions prior to the establishment of the merit-based employment system. It was first passed in 1876, but rescinded in 1895. Moreover, the constitutionality of bills passed under the Holman rule has been questioned by legal scholars in light of the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in United States v. Lovett (1946).
It is considered to be controversial – and TheConversation.com reported in March, “The rule allows House members to transform the normal process of compiling appropriation bills – normally, lists of amounts of money to be spent – into vehicles to fire government employees and shut down programs they don’t like.”
The National Federation of Federal Employees (NFFE) also described it as “A poorly crafted piece of legislation that provides individual House members with wide latitude to amend appropriations bills on the floor of the House,” and added that “The rule also expands what can be amended on the floor, including changes to a specific agency, office, program, or salary of a single position or of the whole agency.”
Such bolster by Greene to employ the Holman Rule in such a way could further endear to Trump and his supporters.
Author Experience and Expertise
A Senior Editor for 19FortyFive, Peter Suciu is a Michigan-based writer. He has contributed to more than four dozen magazines, newspapers, and websites with over 3,200 published pieces over a twenty-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a Contributing Writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu.
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