Ranking Member Meng Remarks at Fiscal Year 2026 Department of Justice Budget Hearing

WASHINGTON — CongresswomanGrace Meng (D-NY-06), Ranking Member of the Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee, delivered the following remarks at the subcommittee’s fiscal year 2026 budget hearing for the Department of Justice:

Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and welcome, Attorney General Bondi.

Tens of thousands of public servants at the Department of Justice and its bureaus have historically worked very hard—and continue to work hard—to protect public safety and uphold the rule of law in our country.

Yet, I must take this opportunity to express my very strong concerns about this current Administration’s lack of respect for the rule of law. Over the past five months, we have seen numerous examples of this Administration outright breaking the law.

The Administration continues to illegally withhold billions of dollars in funding that Congress appropriated, including hundreds of recently-terminated Justice grants that had previously been awarded through open and competitive processes.  

The Administration is violating the Federal law that mandates that the Office of Management and Budget publish apportionments and show the public how and when Federal agencies are spending appropriated funds.

The Justice Department has begun illegally restoring the gun possession rights of convicted felons and domestic abusers. 

It is allowing the sale of forced reset trigger devices without a background check—these are devices that effectively convert regular firearms into machine guns, which I fear will only make mass shootings in the United States more numerous and deadly. 

More than 1,500 individuals involved in the January 6th attack on the Capitol were pardoned or granted commutations of sentences. The President’s new appointee as Pardon Attorney, Ed Martin, previously raised money to help defend some of the most violent of these individuals—people who assaulted police officers. Some of the pardoned January 6 defendants have subsequently been rearrested, charged, or sentenced for other crimes. 

Under this President, the U.S. has accepted a luxury jetliner from Qatar, very likely in violation of the Emoluments Clause of the Constitution.

This President also has issued a series of illegal and unconstitutional executive orders, several of which are being challenged in courts right now.

Presidential actions in recent months have also directed highly political and targeted investigations against law firms and individuals, including Miles Taylor, a former staffer for the House Appropriations Committee’s Republican majority.

Meanwhile, the Administration has weakened law enforcement against political corruption by gutting the Department’s Public Integrity Section, which fairly investigates and prosecutes corruption by government officials.

It has dismantled Task Force KleptoCapture, which was started after Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, to enforce sanctions and target oligarchs close to the Kremlin. It has also ended the FBI’s Foreign Influence Task Force, which was created to defend against foreign influence operations targeting U.S. institutions.

Furthermore, dozens of experienced career Federal prosecutors, litigators, and FBI leaders have been fired or forced out since the start of this Administration, including James Dennehy, the highly respected leader of the FBI’s New York field office.

I am really concerned about what is happening in the Department of Justice, especially based on the Department’s fiscal year 2026 budget request. The proposed budget weakens the country’s efforts to fight crime and keep Americans safe.  

The proposal reduces funding for the FBI, despite the heroism of agents like those in Minnesota, who aided in the recent capture of the deranged man accused of killing a state representative and nearly killing another.  

It slashes funding to fight the trafficking of fentanyl and other dangerous illegal drugs, by reducing the budget of the DEA, cutting the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas program by more than a third, and by completely eliminating the dedicated funding for the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces program.  

The Administration also proposes a cut of more than 25 percent to the ATF, which will further weaken the government’s ability to fight illegal gun trafficking.  

This budget proposal also puts further pressure on state and local budgets at a time of great economic uncertainty. 

The proposal cuts, by more than $800 million, funding for grants to state and local law enforcement for fighting and reducing crime, including a cut of more than $37 million to Byrne Justice Assistance formula grants that help our local law enforcement in every single state. 

I’m also concerned about the huge cut to grants aimed at preventing and prosecuting violence against women, such as STOP grants and Sexual Assault Services grants.

The Administration also proposes eliminating three valuable programs aimed at fighting and preventing hate crimes at the same time that the FBI is reporting that hate crimes are at historic highs.

The Administration’s budget would completely eliminate the Community Relations Service, which was created by the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to prevent and resolve conflicts in American communities.

These actions and this budget proposal simply don’t demonstrate a commitment to the rule of law and equal rights for all Americans. I look forward to discussing these important issues at today’s hearing.

Thank you for being here, and thank you Mr. Chairman, and I yield back.

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