The House Appropriations Committee had another busy week, as we continued conducting numerous budget hearings ahead of preparing our proposed spending bills for Fiscal Year 2024. 

Last Tuesday, the Secretary of Education, Miguel Cardona, appeared before one of my subcommittees to discuss his department’s budget requests. Given the Department of Education’s new proposed rule that forces schools and colleges to allow biological men to compete in women’s sports to receive federal funding, I used this opportunity to press Secretary Cardona on the implications of the Biden Administration’s extreme transgender agenda. Notably, Cardona refused three times to define “woman” — exemplifying his adherence to the Left’s gender ideology and refusal to protect both female students and athletes. 

Watch the full exchange below — you won’t want to miss it.

Additionally, the Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Subcommittee held a hearing to consider requests for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF). During the hearing, I asked ATF Director Dettelbach about numerous concerning policies that the weaponized agency is using to infringe on Americans’ Second Amendment freedoms, including the ATF’s recent rule pertaining to pistol-braced firearms. As one of the few Federal Firearms Licensees in Congress, I’ve been leading the fight against this rule, which turns firearms with stabilizing braces into unregistered short-barreled rifles, and I appreciated the opportunity to press Dettelbach on this deeply troubling, unconstitutional matter.

Please click the video below to watch my full remarks.

Later in the week, the Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Subcommittee heard from a few of the Biden Administration’s key health officials, including Acting National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) Director Lawrence Tabak and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Rochelle Walensky. Given both the NIH and CDC’s failures surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, I questioned both Tabak and Walensky about some of the unscientific misinformation these agencies shamelessly pushed at the American people’s expense. For example, I asked CDC Director Walensky about her previous comments regarding COVID transmission and mask effectiveness. Additionally, I pressed Acting NIH Director Tabak on taxpayer-funded gain-of-function research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology. 

Watch my full line of questioning below. 

As you know, I’ve been leading the fight against the D.C. City Council’s dangerous efforts to enact policies that make our nation’s capital less safe. Following the President signing my first bill, H.J.Res. 26, into law, which nullified the Council’s soft-on-crime Revised Criminal Code Act, I took aim at a second measure that weakens the Metropolitan Police Department’s (MPD) ability to protect and serve Americans in Washington.

After losing almost 1,200 officers over the last two years due to the Council’s legislation, the MPD continues to operate in an officer deficit amidst the District’s chaotic crime crisis. Thankfully, we’ve now taken another pivotal step in the fight to restore law and order to our nation’s capital city.

Last week, the House passed my second resolution, H.J.Res. 42, to repeal the D.C. Council’s anti-police law with bipartisan support — as more than a dozen House Democrats joined my commonsense effort. Congress has both the authority and the responsibility to prevent the D.C. Council’s anti-police law from remaining in place, as this misguided bill severely hinders the MPD’s ongoing effort to recruit and retain officers — exacerbating an already alarming problem as the police force has dwindled to a staggering half-century low under these disparaging policies. The Council’s legislation also significantly limits MPD officers from effectively doing their jobs, jeopardizing Americans’ safety in our crime-ridden capital. I thank my colleagues for passing my lifesaving, pro-police resolution with bipartisan support, and I now call on both the Senate and the White House to put people over politics by joining our effort to improve public safety in our nation’s capital city.

The radical Left’s transgender agenda is quickly chipping away at girls’ and women’s sports, as biological men continue competing against female athletes. Time and time again, these women are forced to lose opportunities, forfeit accolades, risk safety, and abandon privacy — all to appease extreme gender ideology enthusiasts. The Biden Administration is fully embracing this woke nonsense, as the Department of Education recently proposed a rule that would require educational institutions to allow transgender students to play on sports teams that are consistent with their so-called “gender identity” in order to receive federal funding. 

As promised, House Republicans are fighting back. 

Last week, we passed H.R. 734, the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act of 2023, which prohibits biological males from participating in women’s sports. Every solitary House Democrat opposed this reasonable bill, instead shamelessly supporting the destruction of girls’ and women’s sports across the country. Rest assured, House Republicans will continue leading on this critical issue to ensure female athletes have privacy, safety, and equal opportunity.  

The deadline to submit artwork for this year’s Congressional Art Competition is this Friday, April 28th. All high school students in the Ninth District are welcome to participate, and the winning artist’s work will be displayed in the U.S. Capitol building for one year. Please reach out to my Gainesville District Office (470-768-6520) if you have any questions and click the button below for additional information regarding competition guidelines.

Rep. Clyde Joins Newsmax to Discuss Washington's Wasteful Spending & The Left's Transgender Agenda

Rep. Clyde Recognizes April as National Faith Month

I’m back in Washington this week, where House Republicans will continue working on our Limit, Save, Grow plan — with hopes to pass our sensible debt ceiling solution in the coming days. Additionally, I look forward to attending several House Appropriations subcommittee hearings to consider final budget requests from numerous federal agencies, including the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

For regular updates on the week ahead, please follow along on Facebook, Instagram, Gettr, and Twitter. Have a blessed week!