Shortly after winning control of the House in 2022, Republicans vowed to use their newfound majority to investigate the Biden administration and crack down on its alleged weaponization of the federal government against conservatives, mainly former President Donald Trump.
In the year since Republicans took control, GOP lawmakers have used their new power over committees to open several investigations into President Joe Biden. But several rank-and-file lawmakers have also taken it upon themselves to protect the former president as he navigates legal troubles and federal investigations of his own.
Rep. Lance Gooden (R-TX) has been a vocal supporter of Trump since being elected in 2018, using the GOP’s majority to crack down on efforts to charge the former president various times.
“Everything is political against [Trump], and if we don’t fight for him, then I certainly don’t know who will,” Gooden told the Washington Examiner in an interview. “So that’s why I am proud to be a part of the charge against weaponization of government, not just against the average American citizen but against conservatism, especially against President Trump.”
As part of his efforts, Gooden sent a letter to the American Bar Association urging for “stringent action” against a group seeking to disbar lawyers who worked on Trump‘s lawsuits to overturn the results of the 2020 election in multiple states.
The 65 Project was created in 2022 to target lawyers who worked on post-election lawsuits, seeking to disbar 111 lawyers across 26 states. Among those targeted by the group include Trump’s legal advisers, such as Sidney Powell and Jenna Ellis, and attorneys general who pushed to overturn their states’ certifications of the 2020 election.
“It’s wild to me that the legal profession has become politicized,” Gooden said. “Attorneys have a long history of representing all types of clients. Clients that are both guilty and innocent, both involved in popular and unpopular activities, from all sides of whatever political persuasion one might be. When we get to the point that we’re punishing attorneys for representing clients, I think that we’re in uncharted waters.”
Gooden also sits on the Judiciary Committee, which has spearheaded several investigations seeking to crack down on the so-called weaponization of the federal government.
Just last week, the committee subpoenaed Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, who leads the investigation into Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election in Georgia, accusing her of misusing federal funds. The subpoena comes after the committee sought documents and information from Willis’s associate Nathan Wade, who is the lead prosecutor in the case, alleging she benefited financially from a romantic relationship with him.
Willis later acknowledged having a “personal relationship” with Wade but denied any professional conflict of interest.
“It’s definitely a team effort that we’re working to fight against the multiple-tiered justice system that we have under the Biden administration,” Gooden said of those efforts. “I believe that this subpoena issuance … is important, and it’s something that I hope she will respect and honor.”
Gooden’s involvement is part of a larger movement within the House GOP to help shield Trump from similar attacks, especially as the former president angles for a return to the White House.
House Republican Conference Chairwoman Elise Stefanik (R-NY), the fourth highest-ranking Republican in the House, has also played an active role in protecting Trump as he faces legal troubles in states such as New York and Georgia. Stefanik has submitted several judicial complaints in Trump’s civil fraud case in New York, accusing the judge of displaying “biased misconduct.”
Stefanik has also filed ethics complaints in Trump’s election interference in Washington, D.C., accusing the court of “political revenge” against the GOP’s likely presidential nominee.
Meanwhile, other Trump allies on the Hill are seeking to exonerate the former president from accusations he engaged in insurrection for his role in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, fighting against efforts from some states to disqualify Trump from the presidential ballot. Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) is set to introduce a resolution on Tuesday that would “clarify the stance of the House of Representatives” to declare Trump “did not participate in actions that would bar him from again holding public office.”
Much of the movement in the House is largely symbolic, though, as Democrats hold control of both the Senate and White House. Gooden acknowledged that much of their fight lies ahead of them, especially if Trump returns to the White House next January.
“The White House is really the most important game in town,” Gooden said. “It’s nice to have the House, it’s nice to have the Senate. But at the end of the day, if you’ve got the White House, you’re in charge.”
Democrats, for their part, have sought to thwart GOP efforts to utilize their majority to boost Trump’s reelection prospects.
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In fact, the Democratic-aligned Congressional Integrity Project relaunched itself shortly after Republicans won the majority in 2022 to push back against GOP efforts to investigate Biden and his family members as “revenge” for Trump’s loss in 2020. The group decried those investigations as distractions from Trump’s legal troubles that they say were commissioned by the former president himself.
“Donald Trump has instructed his puppets in Congress to conduct baseless investigations and shut down bipartisan border deals in order to distract from his attempt to overthrow the 2020 election, two impeachments, 91 criminal indictments, and MAGA House Republicans’ year of legislative failures,” Hannah Muldavin, senior communications adviser for the Congressional Integrity Project, told the Washington Examiner. “Republicans have done absolutely nothing to help Americans across the country and only want to harm President Biden in order to help Trump return to the White House in 2024.”
