House GOP attempts to cut Buttigieg salary to $1 via spending bill

House Republicans moved to reduce Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg’s salary to $1, as lawmakers debate spending bills ahead of the government funding deadline next week.

The salary cut for Buttigieg was put forth by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) and adopted by voice vote as an amendment to the 2024 Transportation and Housing and Urban Development spending bill.

“Pete Buttigieg doesn’t do his job. It’s all about fake photo ops and taxpayer-funded private jet trip to accept LGBTQ awards for him,” Greene posted on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. “I’m happy my amendment passed, but he doesn’t deserve a single penny.”

The underlying bill needs to be approved by the full House and is unlikely to be approved by the Senate.

The Holman Rule — which gives members the ability to propose amendments for appropriations bills that decrease the salaries for specific federal workers or programs to $1, essentially defunding them — was reintroduced in January, when House Republicans adopted a rules package following Rep. Kevin McCarthy’s (R-Calif.) battle to become Speaker.

It’s not the first time Greene and other Republicans have taken to the rule to slash salaries to target sending by the Biden administration. In September, Greene offered another amendment reducing pay for Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.

House Republicans are at odds over how to prevent a government shutdown that would begin in just over a week, and it remains to be seen whether the conference will rally behind new Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.).

A number of the proposals discussed in a House GOP conference meeting Tuesday would be non-starters in the Senate, which is moving ahead with its own strategy. 

Senate leaders and appropriators are considering a proposal to combine the remaining nine unpassed Senate appropriations bills into one large “maxi-bus” package.

Updated Nov. 8 at 8:02 a.m. ET