White House labels House 'weaponization' hearing as McCarthyism 'reboot'

The House select subcommittee investigating the alleged weaponization of the federal government held its first hearing on Thursday, prompting the White House to malign its activities and reference the efforts of lawmakers during the Cold War to expunge communist infiltrators and sympathizers from the government.

A memo from White House spokesman Ian Sams declared that "[t]oday, Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan is launching the Fox News reboot of the House Un-American Activities Committee with a political stunt that weaponizes Congress to carry out the priorities of extreme MAGA Republicans in Congress," according to the Washington Times.

The committee Sams referenced operated in some fashion from 1938-1975 and was closely associated with McCarthyism, an anti-communist political effort of the 1940s and 1950s, though then-Sen. Joe McCarthy, R-Wis., was never a member as he served in the other chamber of Congress.

"Led by Jordan and Congressman Matt Gaetz, this committee plans to weaponize the MAGA agenda against their perceived political enemies, going after civil servants, private citizens and the rule of law — all in service of getting booked on Fox News," Sams alleged.

"These extreme MAGA Republicans in Congress are choosing to make it their top priority to go down the rabbit hole of debunked conspiracy theories about a 'deep state' instead of taking a deep breath and deciding to work with the president and Democrats in Congress to improve Americans' everyday lives," he continued.

The House voted to create the subcommittee earlier this year amid considerable allegations of political bias at various federal agencies and a bevy of whistleblower complaints lending credence to such notions.

Democrats have derided the committee as a vehicle for pursuing partisan political investigations, but have nonetheless opted to appoint members to it, contending that Republicans should not receive a platform for their alleged grievances that lacked Democratic counterweight.

Ben Whedon is an editor and reporter for Just the News. Follow him on Twitter.