With government funding bills in focus when the House returns after Labor Day, Republicans in that chamber are seeking opportunities to use a newly revived appropriations rule that effectively gives lawmakers the power to fire federal officials at will.
Last week, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., announced that she would introduce such an amendment under the so-called Holman rule to block federal funding for special counsel John L. “Jack” Smith’s investigation into former President Donald Trump.
The broad form of the Holman rule, as reinstated by Republicans earlier this year, allows any member to offer a legislative amendment to an appropriations bill if it would result in a reduction in the amount of money covered by the bill, a reduction to a specific government official’s compensation paid out of Treasury or a reduction in the number of officials employed by the government.
