The House GOP moved to reduce Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg’s salary to just $1, the conference’s latest move as conservatives have explored using obscure funding rules to exact political pain on the Biden administration.
The cut for Buttigieg was adopted by voice vote as an amendment to the fiscal 2024 Transportation-HUD spending bill and was put forth by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.). The bill still needs to be approved by the full House but stands no chance at approval from the Democratic-controlled Senate.
Bringing it back: It’s not the first time House Republicans have explored using the so-called Holman Rule, which allows Congress to reduce salaries of certain federal employees in spending bills. The House voted down attempts to trim the salaries of four officials in October, when those proposals came up as amendments to the energy and water spending package.
Key caveat: The House GOP’s spending bills are packed with Republican priorities and have little hope of becoming law in their current — or amended — form. It will have to be reconciled with the Democratic controlled Senate before it takes effect and President Joe Biden isn’t going to sign a bill that strips Buttigieg of any salary.
