In a reversal, the new version of the short-term spending bill to extend government funding into next year does not include a one-year extension of a government agency accused of “censorship” against conservatives.
Following pressure from conservative Republicans in Congress, businessmen Vivek Ramaswamy and Elon Musk, as well as President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President-elect J.D. Vance, the old version of the bill with a provision funding the State Department’s Global Engagement Center was scrapped. House Republicans introduced a new bill on Thursday afternoon.
STATE DEPARTMENT ‘CENSORSHIP’ OFFICE FINDS LIFELINE IN 1,500-PAGE SPENDING BILL
The GEC, formed in 2016, is an office that Republicans say funded an unconstitutional “censorship scheme” over its backing of foreign groups and coordination with social media companies on apparent speech suppression efforts in recent years.
The GEC has come under significant scrutiny following reports from the Washington Examiner on it granting taxpayer dollars to the Global Disinformation Index and other outside groups working to suppress right-leaning voices online. The Federalist and the Daily Wire, two conservative media outlets, joined Texas last year in suing the GEC over its bankrolling of the Global Disinformation Index and a New York-based company called NewsGuard that claims it tracks misinformation.
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The latest continuing resolution would maintain funding levels for government agencies until March 14. It also keeps $110 billion in additional spending for disaster aid and assistance to farmers — among other spending proposals.
Now, without an extension in the CR, the Global Engagement Center is expected to shutter at the end of this year. The interagency group has lost support from lawmakers after years of congressional scrutiny.