By H.L. McCullough
When President Joe Biden entered office, his administration was already contemplating how to turn departments of the executive branch into campaign offices for the 2024 election.
In his very first year, Biden released an executive order, followed by an in-depth fact sheet, detailing how government agencies would be used to “expand citizens’ opportunities to register to vote,” with a specific focus on “historically marginalized groups.”
The Department of Defense, which is supposed to provide “the military forces needed to deter war and ensure our nation’s security,” was tasked with targeting first-time voters and providing them with materials in multiple languages at “regular intervals.”
The executive order also included recommendations for the Department of Health and Human Services to request a 25% increase in grants for people with disabilities to access voting, the Department of Homeland Security to provide voter resources for people affected by natural disasters, and the Department of Transportation to consider offering free and reduced public transportation on election day. Implementation would be carried out by government agencies and White House “approved” third-party organizations.
Over the last four years, government agencies have taken steps to fulfill the partisan goals set forth by the administration.
More recently, the Biden administration’s Small Business Administration has raised significant election integrity concerns. In the anticipated battleground state of Michigan, which has more than 900,000 small businesses employing 1.9 million people, the SBA has teamed up with the Michigan Department of State to sign a memorandum of understanding connecting the small business community and the federal government. As the first agreement of its kind, it will allow small businesses to “play a greater active role in our democracy,” according to Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, a Democrat who has jeopardized the election process in her state by encouraging absentee voting and diverting $4.2 million of federal funds to send applications by mail.
A special adviser to the SBA admitted that Secretary Isabel Guzman is “the most traveled Cabinet member,” traveling to battleground states to meet exclusively with Democratic members of Congress to help campaign for Biden. Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) has demanded answers from Guzman, calling the actions of the administration “beyond disturbing” and a “gross abuse of official agency resources” that violate the Hatch Act, which prohibits federal government employees from participating in partisan activities.
Rep. Roger Williams (R-TX) has issued subpoenas for SBA officials refusing to comply with investigations into their electioneering activities and to the State Department for failing to turn over records of the Biden administration’s involvement with the British-based Global Disinformation Index, which pressures advertisers to boycott conservative media outlets.
State legislatures and public policy experts have also acted against the weaponization of government agencies. In Pennsylvania, Republican leadership in the state House and Senate, supported by the Election Research Institute, filed a federal suit against the Biden administration and the Democratic governor on the grounds that Biden’s executive order violates federal civil rights law under the Constitution and usurps Pennsylvania state law.
The Foundation for Government Accountability sued in federal court for the release of the administration’s strategic plan for weaponizing government agencies. However, none of the government agencies have complied, shedding more light on the corruptness and hypocrisy surrounding the Executive Branch.
On the surface, the Biden administration’s initiative to expand voting opportunities may seem generous, helpful, and nonpartisan. But in reality, the Biden administration is using executive branch agencies to target voters who are more likely to keep them in power.
It would be unwise to assume that the Biden administration is purely seeking an increase in voter registration. If the Pentagon is seeking to target first-time voters with materials in multiple languages, for example, it makes one question whether the Biden administration is seeking to gain votes from the influx of migrants coming from the southern border. This would align with the Democratic Party’s advocacy for removing voter identification methods.
The Biden administration’s actions also undermine election laws put into place to prohibit presidents from using government agencies for political gain. The Pendleton Civil Service Act of 1883 ended the spoils system that dominated the American politics of the mid-nineteenth century by establishing a merit-based federal workforce and outlawing election interference by federal employees. The Hatch Act of 1939 was created and passed after President Franklin D. Roosevelt weaponized the Works Progress Administration and pressured federal employees into working on campaigns for his allies or supporters.
The job of the executive branch and its associated agencies is to serve and protect the people, not to campaign on behalf of political parties. The Biden administration is not the first administration to weaponize government agencies for partisan gain and will likely not be the last. But those who take pride in American freedoms, liberties, and values, see through the Biden administration’s efforts to stay in power at the expense of the American voter and the safety and security of our nation.
H.L. McCullough is a rising junior at Pepperdine University from Murfreesboro, Tennessee. He is studying business and currently interning in Washington, D.C.
