Dems Accidentally Get Supermajority on House GOP's 'Weaponization' Panel

Sep 16, 2023

In an apparent error, House Republicans passed a resolution on Tuesday that would give Democrats a supermajority on a new select subcommittee probing the "weaponization" of the government.

In a resolution that sought to expand the committee to 13 members up to 21, drafters made an apparent typo, which was first noted by Politico's Kyle Cheney.

The resolution, put forward by House Majority Leader Steve Scalise and passed by voice vote, stated that the subcommittee would have "not more than 12" members, and that "not more than 9 shall be appointed in consultation with the minority leader."

That would give Democrats a 9-3 supermajority. In reality, the plan is for the committee to have 12 Republican members and 9 Democratic members, and the error will almost certainly be corrected before the committee convenes.

"This is just the latest evidence that this MAGA clown show was never serious," a Democratic committee aide told Insider, relishing the apparent typo.

The Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government, which will be housed under the House Judiciary Committee and likely chaired by Republican Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, was first established by a vote on the House floor in January.

Every single Democrat voted against it.

The committee emerged out of Kevin McCarthy's bid to become speaker, and was among the concessions he made to GOP hardliners. It's been granted sweeping powers to investigate the executive branch — including the Department of Justice and intelligence agencies — as well as private companies.

On Wednesday, Republican Rep. Guy Reschenthaler of Pennsylvania — the House Chief Deputy Whip — passed an amended version of the resolution, fixing the issue.

Februaru 1, 2023, 3:00 PM ET: This story has been updated to reflect that an amendment has been passed that removes the Democratic supermajority and sets the number of committee members at 21.