An amendment proposed by Rep. Claudia Tenney (R-N.Y.) aimed to reduce White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre’s salary to $1 has been ultimately rejected by the House.
The vote, which took place on Thursday, Oct. 9, resulted in a defeat for the amendment with a count of 257-165-1, as 54 Republicans joined Democrats in opposing the move.
During her argument for the amendment, Rep. Tenney accused Jean-Pierre of being a “liar” and labeled her as “anti-Semitic.”
She claimed that Jean-Pierre had misled the public, behaved condescendingly toward reporters, and violated the Hatch Act, a federal law.
The Hatch Act was established in 1939 to prevent partisan political activity by government employees.
It prohibits executive branch employees from advocating for political or commercial interests while on duty.
Rep. Tenney specifically pointed to Jean-Pierre’s use of the term “MAGA Republicans” as evidence of a Hatch Act violation.
The allegations of anti-Semitism stemmed from a recent controversy in which Jean-Pierre initially declined to discuss incidents involving the removal of posters depicting Israeli hostages held by Hamas.
Jean-Pierre later addressed the issue on social media, condemning the actions of those tearing down the posters as “wrong and hurtful.”
Her full post read:
“As a result of the Hamas terrorist attacks, communities and families are grieving. For the past month, the families of those who have been taken hostage have lived in agony. Tearing down pictures of their loved ones – who are being held hostage by Hamas – is wrong and hurtful.“
