White House slams GOP proposal to slash DOJ budget as ‘defunding the police’

The White House pushed back Tuesday on a bill proposed by House Republicans that cut both the budgets for the Justice Department and FBI by hundreds of millions of dollars by accusing the GOP of defunding law enforcement.

“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 Deputy Press Secretary Andrew Bates said.

The sharp rebuke comes hours after House Republicans unveiled a bill to fund the Commerce and Justice departments and the science agencies for fiscal year 2025.

The bill would impose a substantial funding cut to the Justice Department, slashing roughly $987 million from the agency, or roughly 3% below the fiscal year 2024 bill and $3 billion less than President Biden’s budget request.

GOP lawmakers also proposed slashing funding for the FBI, cutting $367 million, a 3.5% reduction below fiscal 2024 levels and 9% less than Mr. Biden sought for the agency.

It would also prevent the FBI from opening a new headquarters in the Washington suburbs by tightening its construction funds.

Mr. Bates said the cuts will lead to increased crime. He also said that it’s proof that the GOP is defunding the police, a phrase that became popular among the far-left in the wake of George Floyd’s 2020 murder at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer.

He said Mr. Biden is making progress by hiring more than 100,000 new police officers funded through the president’s COVID-19 relief bill.

“Congressional Republicans need to work with Joe Biden against crime — not the other way around,” he said.

House Republicans, however, say the move is a way to increase oversight of the Justice Department, which they argue is run amok by bringing criminal charges against former President Donald Trump.

“This bill prioritizes fiscal sanity and the liberties of the American people,” House Appropriations Committee Chairman Tom Cole, Oklahoma Republican, said in a statement. “It halts the weaponization of the federal government against its citizens and enhances congressional oversight to ensure taxpayer dollars are used responsibly.”