House GOP lawmaker accuses Biden admin of using taxpayer funds for his re-election 'campaign activities'
House Oversight, Investigations, and Regulations Subcommittee chair Rep. Beth Van Duyne, R-Texas, accused the Biden administration of using taxpayer funds for "campaign activities" in support of President Biden's re-election campaign on "Fox News Live."
The accusations stem from an announcement in March of a memorandum of understanding between the Small Business Administration and the Michigan Department of State to "promote civic engagement and voter registration in Michigan" through 2036.
The memo follows a 2021 executive order from Biden directing federal agencies to "promote voter registration and voter participation."
Van Duyne referenced an investigation by the House Small Business Committee that revealed 22 out of 25 of the SBA's outreach events in Michigan have occurred in counties with the highest population of Democratic National Committee target demographics.
"This is obviously a campaign attempt to get out Biden voters, and they're using taxpayer dollars to do it, which is in direct violation to the Hatch Act. You don't use taxpayer funds — official funds — to pay for campaign activities, and that's exactly what it appears is going on," Van Duyne said.
"They're acting outside the intent of laws that Congress has passed, and they're doing it all to get voters because if they see the polling numbers, they're trying to pull in more, and it's all about power, it's all about control."
Van Duyne argued the SBA should be "focused on helping these small businesses that right now are being crippled by Biden's economic policies, that are seeing increases in inflation by nearly 20%. They're having a hard time with hiring people because the government is paying them entitlements to stay home. These are the things that the SBA should be focused on. They should be a vocal champion of Main Street and a small business, but they're not."
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Fox News national correspondent Bryan Llenas stressed the importance of Michigan to Biden's re-election campaign.
The "Blue Wall" — Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania — is the "clearest path" for Biden to be re-elected. Llenas noted Biden beat former President Trump in Michigan 50–47, but currently trails the former president by "3 points or pretty much within the margin of error."
"We're absolutely concerned that it's not only going to extend to other states, but other agencies that will be doing this as well under this executive order from the president," Van Duyne added.
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Earlier in April, the House Small Business Committee sent a letter to SBA Administrator Isabel Casillas Guzman inquiring into the agency's MOU with the Michigan Department of State, but according to Van Duyne, there has not yet been a response.
"Fox News Live" reached out to the White House for comment but did not hear back by air time.