In a 50-45 vote on Tuesday, Senate Democrats killed a GOP-backed amendment seeking to defund President Biden’s executive interference in U.S. elections.
Proposed by Sen. Ted Budd, R-N.C., the amendment stipulates that “None of the funds appropriated or otherwise made available in this division may be used to implement or enforce Executive Order 14019.” The proposal sought to amend a “minibus” appropriations bill under consideration by the upper chamber.
Tuesday’s final vote fell along party lines, with 45 Republicans supporting and 50 Democrats opposing the measure. GOP Sens. Mike Lee of Utah, Tim Scott of South Carolina, Thom Tillis of North Carolina, J.D. Vance of Ohio, as well as Democrat Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia, did not vote on the bill.
Signed by Biden in March 2021, Executive Order 14019 mandated that all federal agencies interfere in the electoral process by using taxpayer money to boost voter registration and get-out-the-vote activities. Under the directive, the head of each department was additionally directed to draft “a strategic plan” explaining how his or her agency intends to fulfill Biden’s edict.
Despite attempts by good government groups to acquire these plans, the Biden administration has routinely stonewalled such efforts by slow-walking its response to federal court orders and heavily redacting any related documents it has released.
“Mandating that every federal agency engage in electioneering on the taxpayer dime raises serious ethical and legal concerns,” Budd said during a Senate floor speech on Tuesday. “This executive order is further weaponization of the federal government’s power to boost one side
