Top House Republicans plan to press federal agencies to punish workers who participate in a planned walk out next week in protest of the Biden administration's support for Israel.
Why it matters: It's the first time Congress has gotten involved in the widespread staff-level dissent taking place within the federal government over the Israel-Hamas war.
Driving the news: Federal workers across nearly two dozen agencies including the White House, the Pentagon and the State Department plan to walk off the job on Tuesday, according to the Middle East-focused news site Al-Monitor.
Why it matters: It's the first time Congress has gotten involved in the widespread staff-level dissent taking place within the federal government over the Israel-Hamas war.
Driving the news: Federal workers across nearly two dozen agencies including the White House, the Pentagon and the State Department plan to walk off the job on Tuesday, according to the Middle East-focused news site Al-Monitor.
- The protest, led by a group of dozens of federal employees calling itself Feds United For Peace, is reportedly to observe a "Day of Mourning" on the 100th day since Israel began military operations in Gaza last October.
- Hundreds of Biden administration employees are expected to participate in the demonstration, the outlet reported.
- Johnson said he and House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) will "be working together to ensure that each federal agency initiates appropriate disciplinary proceedings" against anyone who participates in Tuesday's demonstration.
- "They deserve to be fired," Johnson said.
- Between the lines: The conservative magazine National Review made the case that the protest violates federal law, pointing to a statute punishing any federal employee who "participates in a strike ... against the Government of the United States" with a fine or up to a year in prison.
- The outlet noted that a strike, as defined by Cornell Law School, is "an organized and intentional stoppage or slowdown of work by employees, intending to make the employer comply with the demands of the employees."
- https://www.axios.com/2024/01/14/mike-johnson-gop-federal-workers-gaza