Marjorie Taylor Greene, Matt Gaetz move to defund ATF director

Georgia Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene and Florida Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz announced on Monday that they would attempt to use a congressional procedure to defund the office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) director amid allegations that the agency has repeatedly exceeded its statutory authority.

In a letter to House Appropriations Committee Chairman Kay Granger, the pair announced their intent to use the Holman Rule to defund the office in the next appropriations cycle. The Daily Caller first reported on the letter.

"The ATF has even made it a matter of official policy to shut down gun stores by making perfection the standard in record keeping – a standard the ATF itself could not meet," they wrote. "Since the Biden Administration has announced its new 'zero tolerance' policy in 2021, Federal Firearms Licensees have faced the highest revocation rate in 16 years."

"This policy has effectively become the death penalty for even the most innocent of clerical errors," the Republicans continued. "The ATF has shown itself incapable of operating within the confines of its statutory authority, and we must force a change."

The Holman Rule permits the U.S. House to reduce the salaries of or fire specific government employees.

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