Overview

• House Republicans, under Speaker Mike Johnson, have pushed through a spending package that includes cuts to the FBI's operating budget by 6 percent and the ATF's funding by 7 percent.
• Democrats and critics accuse the GOP of hypocrisy, pointing out the party's previous stance against defunding the police, now seemingly contradicted by their own proposed budget cuts.
• The cuts are part of a broader GOP effort to reduce federal spending and are justified by Republicans as a response to what they perceive as the 'weaponization' of federal agencies against conservatives.
• The proposed budget reductions have led to backlash from Democrats, who argue that cutting law enforcement funding undermines public safety and contradicts the GOP's law-and-order message.
• Speaker Mike Johnson defends the cuts as necessary to address overreach and alleged bias within federal agencies, amid a broader strategy to secure Republican victories in upcoming elections.