Democrats on Capitol Hill are raising alarm over large banners with President Donald Trump’s face that can be seen on three federal buildings, claiming they carry authoritarian undertones in the wake of a report from California Democratic Sen. Adam Schiff.
“When I saw the banners hanging from federal office buildings last week, it reminded me of [the] Communist Party in China and banners hanging from federal offices—just totally inappropriate and a step towards authoritarianism,” Democratic Rep. Hank Johnson from Georgia told CNN. “It’s another indication of the march that we’re on towards authoritarianism in this country.”
The report, released by Schiff earlier this week that alleges the administration is using federal funds for propaganda, found the Trump administration has spent at least $50,000 in taxpayer funds to create the banners, with the Department of Agriculture spending $16,400, Health and Human Services $33,726, and the Department of Labor around $6,000.
Schiff’s office, reached by CNN, said it did not have additional comment beyond the report. The California Democrat is known to have a particularly frosty relationship with the Trump White House.
But Republican lawmakers argued that similar promotional efforts took place under the previous Democratic administration – pointing to taxpayer-funded signage crediting then-President Joe Biden for federal projects, such as those related to his infrastructure law – and questioned why their colleagues didn’t raise concern then.
“Did they raise concerns when they were putting banners and stuff up when they were in the White House? I don’t recall that,” said Georgia Republican Rep. Barry Loudermilk. “ Why the double standard?”
The controversy underscores deepening tensions in Washington over the extent of Trump’s use of executive power. The banners in question have large portraits of the sitting president with the caption “American Workers First.”
The White House strongly pushed back on Schiff’s report, calling the senator a “serial liar.”
“You should ask Pencil Neck why he’s trying to draw comparisons between President Trump and fascist leaders when this is the exact same rhetoric that radicalizes the left’s supporters to commit acts of violence against conservatives,” White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said in a statement to…
Read More: Democratic lawmakers raise alarm in wake of Schiff report on Trump
