President Joe Biden’s executive order directing federal agencies to coordinate with outside groups on voter turnout is being used as a tool to “weaponize” the federal government, according to House Administration Committee Chairman Bryan Steil (R-WI). During a Thursday hearing on noncitizen voting and foreign influence in elections, Steil said, “Our federal agencies should be focused on serving the American people, not focused on reelecting President Biden.”
The executive order, issued in March 2021, calls for agencies to register voters with the help of “approved, nonpartisan third-party organizations and state officials.” However, multiple reports have found that groups linked to the planning and implementation of the order appear to be overwhelmingly of the progressive left.
An investigation by the Washington Examiner found that staffers from one group, called Vot-ER, listed as having been on a 2021 planning call with groups for the executive order, is funded by Democratic dark money groups and led by left-wing activists. Some legal experts have raised concerns over whether Vot-ER and its partners in taxpayer-funded public health centers are acting nonpartisan in accordance with federal rules.
Documents show that other groups with staffers on that call were from the George Soros-backed Open Society Policy Center, End Citizens United, eBay founder Pierre Omidyar’s Democracy Fund, the Brennan Center for Justice, and other left-wing activist hubs.
Steil said he looked forward to the government swiftly replying to his letter asking for information about the Transportation Department’s plans to implement Biden’s executive order on voter turnout. He emphasized that the order is a “real concern,” and much of the hearing focused on tightening laws to stop foreign nationals from exerting influence over elections in the United States.