Alabama U.S. Rep. Barry Moore criticizes federal spending, 'weaponization' of U.S. agencies • Alabama Reflector

U.S. Rep. Barry Moore, R-Enterprise, harshly criticized federal spending and President Joe Biden’s policies while attacking what he called the administration’s “weaponization” of the Justice Department.

Speaking at a breakfast of the Montgomery Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday, Moore repeatedly criticized federal spending on the war in Ukraine as well as federal energy policy, which he said is the “driving factor” in driving inflation up and economic challenges Americans may be facing.

“When energy fuel costs goes up, folks, everything you do, whether you build a house and when you buy a car, the parts that go into that — the petroleum investment in there is higher,” Moore said to the attendees.

Moore blamed Biden for increasing energy costs, claiming he halted energy production “from day one.” Moore did not provide a specific example, but Biden did shut down oil and gas lease sales in public lands and waters in his first days in office due to concerns about climate change, according to The Associated Press.

The move was seen as an effort to change the U.S. fossil-fuel economy into clean energy, but the rule has been on hold since February 2022 due to a Western District of Louisiana court decision after Louisiana and nine other states sued the Biden administration. It’s unclear the effect it has had on inflation due to energy, as U.S. energy exports hit a record high in 2023.

Moore also claimed the Biden administration added about $1 trillion to the national debt in the last one hundred days but did not cite a source. According to Politifact, Biden’s debt accumulation is expected to reach about $7.9 trillion by the end of his term in January. In his four-year term, former President Donald Trump added about $7.8 trillion.

When asked about Trump’s spending after his speech, Moore said that while they may occasionally have to reject Trump’s funding requests, he shifted to promoting energy independence, proposing “you drill here and you drill now” to bring down the national debt, as well as halting international aid.

“They told him no on the wall, $5 billion, and now we spend $176 billion in Ukraine. I think there’s some ways there. Then certainly go ahead and quit spending money all over the globe in the areas that we not even got oversight,” he said.

Trump in 2018 asked Congress for $5 billion to build a border wall, but the House of Representatives, headed by then-U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-California, offered $1.3 billion for border security. As a result, Trump diverted $6 billion in military funds for the wall construction, which the Supreme Court in 2020 approved.

Congress also has passed five bills appropriating $175 billion in response to the war in Ukraine, according to the Council on Foreign Relations, an independent thinktank, but $107 billion is directly spent on Ukraine. The remaining portion is funding other U.S. government activities associated with the war.

Moore also expressed concern over what he called the “weaponization” of federal agencies, including the FBI and the IRS. He claimed an incident, claimed by the Wall Street Journal editorial board, where the home of a journalist testifying before the House Judiciary Committee, chaired by House Freedom Caucus deputy chair Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, was visited by the IRS, which Moore suggested was an attempt to intimidate.

There has been no evidence of the incident, other than the Judiciary Committee sending a letter to the IRS asking for details.

Moore, who voted to overturn the 2020 presidential election results, also denounced the Russian election interference “narrative,” calling it a hoax that top Democratic officials knowingly perpetuated, but on July 13, 2018, a federal grand jury in Washington, D.C., indicted 12 Russian military intelligence officers for allegedly interfering in the 2016 U.S. elections. A bipartisan U.S. Senate committee concluded in 2020 that “Russia launched an aggressive effort to interfere in the election on Trump’s behalf” and that Trump associates “were eager to exploit the Kremlin’s aid,” according to The Associated Press.

Moore insinuated that Democrats will use it again to try to win the election.

“We certainly don’t want the federal government picking our next elected official. We want to have a fair election process,” Moore said.