Republicans invoke 140-year-old law that could reduce federal employees' wage to $1

House Republicans have revived a law from 1876 that allows members of Congress to target individual federal employees and reduce their pay to $1, the Washington Post reports.

The Holman Rule, as it's known, permits Congress members to single out any of the 2.1 million civil servants the US employs for a career-ending reduction in pay, as well as to cut specific programs to $0, the Washington Post reports.

Majorities in the House and Senate stillneed to approve the amendment before the Holman Rule can be enacted, but the mere possibility has critics fearingRepublicans can use this to targetopponents.

Add WION as a Preferred Source

There are reasons to be suspicious.

Twoweeks ago the Trump transition team sent a questionnaire tothe The Washington Post reports that Trump's team also sought the names from the State Departmentof individuals working on women's health issues.

Also in the crosshairs isintelligence.On Thursday,Trump said that plans to overhaul the Office of the Director National Intelligence, Salon reports.

Trump has clashed for weekswith US intelligence agencies, who now stateunequivocally thatVladimir Putin interefered in the US election to benefit Trump. Trump, who in the presidential debates openly called on Russiato hack Clinton's emails, denied that Russia had any role in interferingwith the US election. Last night he issued a statementadmittingthat Russia, among others, did intereferein the US election, but deniedthat itaffected itsoutcome.

Trumphasclaimedhe does not receive daily intelligence briefings, and has cast doubt on his country's own intellgence agencies. Last week he publicly sided withJulian Assange overthe FBI, CIA and the White House.

Republican Represenative from Virginia H Morgan Griffith suggested the Holman Rule may reallycome aboutandappeared to justify it,tellingthe Washington Post:"I can't tell you it won't happen...The Power is there. But isn't that appropriate? Who runs the country, the people of the United State or the people on the people's payroll?"

House Majority leader told reporters earlier in the week appeared to justify the Holman Rule, saying, "All agencies should be held accountable and tested in a manner, and this is an avenue to allow them to do it", Salon reports.

The Holman Rule could be used in still more placestoo, critics fear.

As NYMag neatly pointsout, Trump is picking candidates with decades of experiencethat run contrary tothe stated objectives of the departments they will lead: "The president-elect’s Labor Secretary–designate isa fast-food executivewhose restaurants are serial violators of labor law; his EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) head is anally of the oil industrywho loves to sue the EPA; hishead of Housing and Urban Developmenthas called the Fair Housing Act 'communist'."

On Tuesday Republicans voted to gut the only non-partisan ethics watchdog committed to overseeingCongress.

This week, in an unprecedented step,Trump demandedthatall US envoys around the world posted by Obama must quit their post before his January 20 inauguration. This threatens to leave the US without envoys in several important countries, including Canada, Germany, and Britain.

Howthe Republicans use this 140-year-old law has yet to be seen, buttheir hostility to the previous administrationisbeyond a doubt.

(WION)