‘No Funds!’ 18 Senators Call to Defund Biden Disinformation Board

Republican lawmakers called for the Senate to defund the Department of Homeland Security’s Disinformation Governance Board

Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT) led 17 other Republican lawmakers who sent a letter to the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee calling to defund President Joe Biden’s Orwellian Disinformation Governance Board (DGB). 

“The federal government should never be in the business of regulating speech or being the arbiter of truth,” the lawmakers wrote. “[T]his latest attempt to engage in that slippery slope should be defunded.”

The Washington Post reported Wednesday that Biden’s DHS “paused” operations of the DGB and its controversial executive director, Nina Jankowicz, resigned. But the lawmakers appeared skeptical that these measures mark the end of the infamous board, saying that “its future remains as unclear as its mission.”

The letter criticized the board’s lack of transparency. “The board currently lacks any guiding policy, mission statement, or charter,” wrote the lawmakers. They also said that the board existed for several months “without having one documented meeting.”  

The letter underscored that “[t]There is no room for error in our nation’s ability to counter disinformation threats that this board fills.” The lawmakers noted that the State Department and the DHS already monitor foreign, election and critical infrastructure related disinformation. [Emphasis on a]

They expressed concern about how the revived disinformation board could violate Americans’ First Amendment rights. “A fine line exists between tackling disinformation and government censorship,” the letter reads. “Exactly where the Disinformation Governance Board falls on this line remains unclear and the potential for abuse is so egregious that we urge any and all funding for the board be prohibited.” 

Roger Marshall (R–KS), James Risch, Todd Young (R–IN), Chuck Grassley and Mike Crapo were among the other senators to sign the letter.

Sen. Daines and Chris Murphy and Shelley Moore Capito, ranking members of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee, did not immediately respond to MRC Free Speech America’s request for comment at the time of publishing.

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