Congressional leadership has named U.S. Virgin Islands Congressional Delegate Stacey Plaskett to the controversial Select Subcommittee on Weaponization of the Federal Government, the congresswoman’s office announced Thursday.
The committee is a subsection of the House Judiciary Committee aimed at investigating alleged abuses of federal authority and private sector entities to suppress politically conservative viewpoints. Its chairman, Jim Jordan (R-OH), was one of the most outspoken Republicans in favor of efforts to block certification of the 2020 presidential election results, has been implicated in the Jan. 6 insurrection, and was a rabid critic of COVID-19 safety protocols.
Plaskett thanked House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) for getting her on the committee, which might be a confrontational assignment.
“The Republican’s attempt to derail the federal government’s obligation to investigate and conduct due process on actions, organizations and individuals that threaten our republic and create an anti-democratic environment will be met with strong resistance by myself and my Democratic colleagues on the subcommittee,” Plaskett said in a written statement. “I am committed to doing the difficult, but necessary work of the committee with the collaboration of a stellar group of Democratic Members.”
Plaskett was also placed on the House Intelligence Committee. The Intelligence Committee is charged with oversight of the United States Intelligence Community of the U.S. Government as well as the Military Intelligence Program.
“My appointment as the Ranking Member of the Select Subcommittee on Weaponization, as well as my assignment to the House Intelligence Committee, represent the first time a Member from a U.S. territory will occupy these posts,” Plaskett said. “It is an honor to hold such a strategic position and I am eager to start the integral work of the Committees to which I have been assigned for the 118th Congress.”
