81 Republicans Vote With Democrats To Fund Deep State Slush Fund That Targeted Conservatives

Dozens of Republicans joined all voting Democrats on Wednesday evening to reject a GOP-led effort to eliminate federal funding for a nonprofit organization accused of bias against conservatives.

Lawmakers voted 127 to 291 to strip $315 billion in funding for the State Department’s democracy promotion programs, including the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), out of a government funding package, falling well short of a majority. Republican Arizona Rep. Eli Crane, who offered the amendment, argued that although NED has the ostensible goal of promoting democracy, the organization has repeatedly promoted “anti-American objectives” and undermined freedom of speech.

The vote split House Republicans with 127 GOP lawmakers — mostly members belonging to the conference’s conservative flank — supporting the amendment and 81 joining Democrats in voting “no.”

“Tonight, the Uniparty rejected my amendment to defund NED,” Crane wrote on X after the vote concluded. “ ‘republicans’ voted with democrats to fund this rogue organization that fuels global censorship and domestic propaganda.”

“Although its name suggests a force for good, its mission has drifted far from its Cold War origins. This is a classic tactic of the swamp, where bad policy and corruption hide behind a noble title,” the Arizona Republican said on the House floor Wednesday, before the vote.

“We’ve learned that this organization has engaged in global censorship, domestic propaganda, and regime change 🏛️Politics,” Crane added.