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Back in 1876, the House passed the Holman Rule for the first time.
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After centuries of adjustments, the rule now enables legislators to decrease the pay of federal employees.
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This year, House Republicans have utilized the rule 36 times.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene and House Republicans are working to revive an obscure House rule from the 19th century.
Since the start of the congressional term in January, House Republicans have taken advantage of the “Holman Rule” and introduced 36 separate amendments to appropriations bills in an attempt to reduce the salaries of select Biden Administration officials and federal employees to just $1.
Originally introduced by Rep. William S Holman in 1876, the rule initially allowed House members to add amendments to appropriations legislation reducing the salary of certain officials. Over a century later, changes to the rule now allow legislators to eliminate government programs in a similar indirect manner.
In recent months, Greene has led the sponsorship of four amendments that aimed to cut the pay of Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, and the CEO of the US Agency for Global Media, Amanda Bennett.
“Pothole Pete staged fake bike rides to the White House and used private planes funded by taxpayers to receive awards for the way certain people have sex,” Greene posted to X, referring to the transportation secretary’s travel to receive an award from a Canadian LGBTQ organization.
The majority in the House ultimately approved three of Greene’s amendments. Lawmakers in the chamber have agreed on similar amendments regarding the paychecks for six other officials including Secretary of State Antony Blinken and the director of the Department of Defense’s Office for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, Cyrus Salazar.
While there’s virtually zero possibility that any of the amendments will make it into the final agreed-upon appropriations bills following revisions from the Senate, House Republicans have continued to use the Holman Rule to win favor with their base.
The Holman Rule hasn’t always been included in rules packages since its introduction in 1876. It has been removed and re-added to the House rule book on numerous occasions.
The rule was most recently reinstated in January 2022, after the GOP narrowly gained control of the House of Representatives, when Rep. Kevin McCarthy ultimately conceded to his holdouts and reinstated the Holman Rule for the 118th Congress.
The 115th Congress also briefly instituted the Holman Rule, though the congressional body never passed a single amendment using it.
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