Press Releases

House Republicans Introduce Bill to Immediately Defund Biden Administration’s “Ministry of Truth”

Rep. Johnson leads 50 Republicans in filing legislation to bar federal funding for DHS’ recently announced “Disinformation Governance Board”

Washington, May 3, 2022

WASHINGTON, May 3, 2022 — Republican Members of Congress led by House Republican Conference Vice Chairman Mike Johnson (LA-04) today filed legislation to immediately defund the Biden Administration’s “Ministry of Truth.”

The bill follows Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas’ announcement that DHS will convene a “Disinformation Governance Board.”

“The Biden Administration’s decision to stand up a ‘Ministry of Truth,’ is dystopian in design, almost certainly unconstitutional, and clearly doomed from the start,” Johnson said. “The government has no role whatsoever in determining what constitutes truth or acceptable speech. President Biden should dissolve this board immediately and entirely. If he won't then Republicans will.”

Background on the legislation:

  • The legislation bars federal funding for DHS’ recently announced “Disinformation Governance Board,” to be headed by Executive Director Nina Jankowicz.
  • Jankowicz, who refers to herself as the “Mary Poppins of Disinformation,” is a frequent purveyor of falsehoods, and appears sympathetic to the cause of censoring Americans.
  • Recent falsehoods peddled by the Biden Administration include: the falsehood that Secretary Mayorkas has done an effective job managing the border crisis; the falsehood that economic contraction in Q1 of 2022 is actually hiding broad economic resiliency; the falsehood that Biden’s $3.5 trillion spending bill costs zero dollars; the falsehood that inflation is a “high-class problem”; and the falsehood that 70% of our current inflation is actually being caused by Vladimir Putin.

Representatives Ben Cline (VA), Bill Posey (FL), Andrew Clyde (GA), Mary Miller (IL), Andy Biggs (AZ), Mike Kelly (PA), John Rutherford (FL), Jeff Van Drew (NJ), Markwayne Mullin (OK), Mike Rogers (AL), Scott Franklin (FL), Dan Bishop (NC), Mike Carey (OH), Marjorie Taylor-Greene (GA), Tom Emmer (MN), Russ Fulcher (ID), David McKinley (WV), Jodey Arrington (TX), Elise Stefanik (NY), Jim Banks (IN), Darrell Issa (CA), Diana Harshbarger (TN), Debbie Lesko (AZ), Doug Lamborn (CO), Rick Crawford (AR), Rob Wittman (VA), Bob Good (VA), Tom McClintock (CA), Greg Murphy (NC), Yvette Herrell (NM), Vern Buchanan (FL), Scott Perry (PA), Clay Higgins (LA), Nicole Malliotakis (NY), Jeff Duncan (SC), Alex Mooney (WV), Glenn Grothman (WI), Troy Balderson (OH), Brian Babin (TX), John Rose (TN), Rodney Davis (IL), Lauren Boebert (CO), Ted Budd (NC), John Moolenaar (MI), Louie Gohmert (TX), Mariannette Miller-Meeks (IA), Brad Wenstrup (OH), Jason Smith (MO), and Ann Wagner (MO) joined Representative Johnson in sponsoring the legislation.