House Administration Committee Chairman Bryan Steil (R-WI) has subpoenaed the Biden administration for documents related to President Joe Biden’s March 2021 executive order that directed federal agencies to partner with local election officials, which he claims is an attempt by the administration to “tilt the scales ahead of 2024.” Steil announced on Twitter that he has issued subpoenas to 15 cabinet members for documents pertaining to the Executive Order titled “Executive Order on Promoting Access to Voting.” The EO directs federal agencies to promote access to voting through the use of federal agency resources.
According to the House Administration Committee, which has been investigating the executive order since shortly after it was announced, evidence already suggests that the Executive Order partners federal employees with partisan advocates to register voters ahead of the 2024 elections. Steil first requested the documents on May 15 and has not yet received any materials in response.
In a statement, Steil said: “Elections are partisan, but our election administration should never be partisan. Allowing federal employees from the Biden Administration to flood election administration sites threatens election integrity and reduces Americans’ confidence.” The EO requires executive departments and agencies to partner with state, local, tribal, and territorial election officials to protect and promote the exercise of the right to vote, eliminate discrimination and other barriers to voting, and expand access to voter registration and accurate election information.
Steil subpoenaed secretaries of the Departments of Transportation, Agriculture, Interior, Treasury, State, Health and Human Services, Energy, Education, Defense, Commerce, Justice, Office of Management and Budget, Housing and Urban Development, and Labor. He expressed concerns about the compatibility of the executive order with provisions of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993, which delegates specific functions and missions to federal agencies that they are required by law to follow.
The committee is also considering legislation that would repeal E.O. 14019 and require the agencies’ strategic plan outlining how they can promote voter registration and voter participation to be submitted to Congress. Senate Republicans, led by Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-TN), have also demanded information on the executive order but claim they have been stonewalled by the Biden administration.
In April, a lawsuit challenging the executive order claimed it targeted key demographics to benefit the president’s political party and his own re-election bid. Tarren Bragdon, president and CEO of the Foundation for Government Accountability, which filed an amicus brief in support of the lawsuit, told Fox News that “Team Biden is using their authority and resources to target welfare populations with a federally funded get-out-the-vote effort.” He added, “If they are allowed to fully execute their plan, it could swing the election outcome.