Before the Biden administration put a pause on its Disinformation Governance Board, 18 Republican senators called to defund it.
Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT) was joined by U.S. Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) and 16 other Republican colleagues in a joint letter expressing their opposition of the anti-free speech board to the Department of Homeland Security.
They urged that any funding for the board is to be prohibited in the FY 2023 appropriations bill.
“The federal government should never be in the business of regulating speech or being the arbiter of truth,” adding “This is the latest attempt to engage in that slippery slope should be defunded.”
The lawmakers expressed their concern that the disinformation board puts American’s First Amendment rights at risk, saying “A fine line exists between tackling disinformation and government censorship.”
The senators doubted the board’s promise to “protect privacy, civil rights, and civil liberties,” while criticizing the lack of transparency of the board.
“The board currently lacks any guiding policy, mission statement, or charter,” adding “they also said that the board existed for several months “without having one documented meeting.”
The senators include: Sens. Johnson and Rob Portman were joined on the letter by Senators Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), Jim Risch (R-Idaho), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Todd Young (R-Ind.), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Mike Lee (R-Utah), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Rick Scott (R-Fla.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), James Lankford (R-Okla.), John Kennedy (R-La.), John Hoeven (R-N.D.), and Mitt Romney (R-Utah).