First appeared on FOX: House Republicans have issued subpoenas to five Biden administration agency officials to testify under oath, alleging that the agencies failed to comply with previous congressional subpoenas requiring them to submit strategic plans for implementing President Biden's executive order on promoting voting access.
In March 2021, Biden signed the Promoting Voting Access Act, which states that “Executive departments and agencies should work with State, local, tribal, and territorial election authorities to protect and promote the exercise of the right to vote, eliminate discrimination and other barriers to voting, and expand access to voter registration and accurate election information.”
The plan has already drawn scrutiny from Senate Republicans, who have criticized it as a federal “voter mobilization” effort that “has the potential to have partisan effects.”
House committee subpoenas 15 Biden Cabinet secretaries for documents on voter mobilization 'plans'
Rep. Brian Steele (R-Wis.) is at the U.S. Capitol before a procedural vote on a motion to revoke House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), Tuesday, Oct. 3, 2023. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
In June, just five months before the November election, House Administration Chairman Brian Steele (R-Wis.) sent subpoenas to 15 members of Biden's cabinet, demanding detailed plans for carrying out the executive order.
The president issued a new round of subpoenas on Thursday, this time to officials he claims have “direct knowledge” of how their departments and agencies implemented the executive order.
Subpoenas have been sent to officials from the Departments of Labor, Housing and Urban Development, Health and Human Services, Justice and Agriculture, requesting testimony under oath.
“Americans deserve transparency and confidence in their elections, yet the Biden administration has refused to comply with lawfully issued congressional subpoenas and has refused to cooperate with our investigation into plans to use federal agencies to 'solicit votes.'” Steele said.
Republican senators accuse Biden administration of 'hidden' plan for federal voting incentives
A woman wearing a Vote T-shirt prepares to count mail-in ballots at a polling station in Pennsylvania. Turnout in Pennsylvania's municipal elections was low, with the most recent figures showing between 15% and 27% of eligible voters casting ballots in local elections. (Amy Dilger/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
“The Committee has concerns about the implementation of Executive Order 14019, particularly its consistency with the provisions of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993,” the subpoena cover letter read.
“Congress delegates certain functions and missions to federal agencies, which are required by law to comply with them. [the agencies] “This does not include using funds or resources to provide voter registration materials to the American people,” the statement said.
“Federal law provides that only U.S. citizens who choose to register to vote have the opportunity to vote, and that all lawful votes will be counted as required by law. Increasing voter registration and participation is a goal shared by all Americans,” the subpoena states. “At the same time, our system requires that our actions always comply with the Constitution and federal law.”
In his subpoena, Steele points out that Article I, Section 4 of the Constitution gives states the primary role in establishing election laws and administering elections, including voter registration.
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President Joe Biden. (Andrew Caballero Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images)
“And to the extent the Elections Clause contains a federal 'fail-safe,' the Constitution delegates that power to Congress, not the president. The president's role is limited to enforcing the laws passed by Congress, and therefore the president must exercise great restraint when acting under election law,” Steele said.
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“Furthermore, the Voting Rights Amendment of the Constitution and federal law only protect the right to vote of U.S. citizens. To protect these rights, Congress has made it a crime for foreign nationals to vote in federal elections and to assist foreign nationals in attempting to vote.”
Fox News Digital has reached out to the Department of Justice, Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Housing and Urban Development, Department of Labor and Department of Agriculture for comment.
