FIRST ON FOX: A House Republican is issuing subpoenas to five Biden administration agency officials to sit for sworn depositions after the congressman claimed their respective agencies failed to comply with previous congressional subpoenas to turn over their strategic plans to implement President Biden’s executive order (EO) on Promoting Access to Voting.
In March 2021, Biden signed Promoting Access to Voting, which states that “executive departments and agencies should partner with State, local, Tribal, and territorial election officials 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 come under scrutiny from Senate Republicans, who have called it a federal “voter mobilization” effort with “potentially partisan impacts.”
Rep. Bryan Steil, R-Wis., is seen in the U.S. Capitol before a procedural vote on a motion to vacate against House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., on Tuesday, Oct. 3, 2023. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Rep. Bryan Steil, R-Wis.,chairman of the Committee on House Administration, in June subpoenaed Biden’s 15 cabinet secretaries for their detailed plans for carrying out the order just five months out from the November election.
On Thursday, he deployed another set of subpoenas, this time to officials he claims have “direct knowledge” of how their respective agencies implemented the EO.
Subpoenas were sent to officials at the Department of Labor, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Justice and Department of Agriculture for the officials to testify under oath.
“Americans deserve transparency and trust in their elections. However, the Biden Administration has refused to comply with a lawfully issued congressional subpoena and cooperate with our investigation into their plan to use federal agencies to ‘get out the vote,'” Steil said.
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A woman wearing a Vote T-shirt prepares mail-in ballots to be counted at a polling station in Pennsylvania. Municipal Elections in Pennsylvania had a low turnout. In the most recent statistic, about 15% to 27% of eligible voters cast ballots in local elections. (Aimee Dilger/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
“The Committee has concerns about the implementation of E.O. 14019, particularly regarding its compatibility with provisions of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993,” the cover letter to the subpoenas reads.
“Congress delegates to federal agencies specific functions and missions, which by law they are required to follow. Congress’s delegation of authority to [the agencies] does not include using funds and resources to provide Americans with voter registration materials,” it says.
“Federal law requires that only U.S. citizens who choose to register to vote must have the opportunity to do so, and every lawful vote must count according to law. Increased voter registration and participation is a goal all Americans share,”the subpoena states. “At the same time, our system requires that our actions must always comply with the Constitution and federal law.”
Steil noted in the subpoena that according to Article I, section 4 of the Constitution, States have the primary role in establishing election law and administering elections, which includes voter registration.
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President Biden. (ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images)
“And, to the extent the Elections Clause contains a federal ‘fail-safe,’ it is Congress to which the Constitution delegates that power—not the President. The President’s role is limited to enforcing enacted legislation passed by Congress; therefore, the President must exercise great restraint when attempting to act on election law,” Steil said.
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“Furthermore, the Constitution’s voting rights amendments and federal law only protect the right of U.S. citizens to vote. To protect these rights, Congress has made it a crime for noncitizens to vote in federal elections and for anyone to assist noncitizens attempting to vote.
Fox News digital reached out to DOJ, HHS, HUD, Dept. of Labor, and Dept. of Agriculture for comment.