White House celebrates Oversight Committee members as ‘political gift’: Report
Cami Mondeaux
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Although House Democrats have lamented the appointment of some of the most firebrand GOP members on the Oversight Committee, White House aides have reportedly been responding to the news with a hint of elation.
The House appointed Reps. Lauren Boebert (R-CO), Matt Gaetz (R-FL), and Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) to the Oversight Committee earlier this week, placing some of the party’s most controversial members on the panel tasked with investigating the Biden administration, as well as the president’s family. Although the White House publicly denounced the move as a “political stunt,” some Biden administration officials quietly celebrated the decision as a “political gift,” according to Politico.
WHITE HOUSE BLASTS APPOINTING ‘EXTREME MAGA MEMBERS’ TO OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE
The Oversight Committee is the main investigative body of the House, making it one of the most powerful panels in the lower chamber and placing it at the center of most political battles. House Republicans have already announced a slew of investigations they plan to open into the Biden administration, including inquiries ranging from the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan to Hunter Biden’s business dealings.
The investigations could spell trouble for President Joe Biden, especially as they’ll be headed by some of the Republican Party’s most far-right members.
However, some White House officials are excited about the new roster, noting the reputations of Boebert, Gaetz, and Greene as incendiary lawmakers could be used to Biden’s advantage. In fact, several White House aides responded to the news of their appointments by texting their colleagues with “digital high fives,” according to Politico. Others noted it would be “easy to dunk on in the media.”
It’s likely the White House will point to the trio’s past actions to discredit their work, including their involvement in former President Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election. Additionally, the three have also defended several of Trump’s supporters who were charged with storming the Capitol on Jan. 6.
Greene also faces increased scrutiny as the Georgia Republican was removed from her committee assignments in the last Congress because of comments she made seemingly encouraging violence against Democrats. Greene was stripped of her assignments in a 230-199 vote, with 11 Republicans joining all Democrats to back the resolution.
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The White House criticized the new roster of the House Oversight Committee on Wednesday, decrying the appointment of “extreme MAGA members,” such as Reps. Boebert, Gaetz, Greene, Paul Gosar (R-AZ), and Scott Perry (R-PA).
“As we have said before, the Biden administration stands ready to work in good faith to accommodate Congress’s legitimate oversight needs,” said White House spokesman Ian Sams. “Chairman [James] Comer once said his goal was to ensure the committee’s work is ‘credible,’ yet Republicans are handing the keys of oversight to the most extreme MAGA members of the Republican caucus who promote violent rhetoric and dangerous conspiracy theories.”