In November 2020, Iowa GOP candidate Mariannette Miller-Meeks faced off against Democratic nominee Rita Hart in an incredibly close Congressional election in which Miller-Meeks won by a minuscule six votes. But Democrats, led by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and eager to overturn the results, racked up over $800,000 worth of legal fees, only to foist that cost onto taxpayers via a provision they tucked into this year’s rules package, according to The Washington Free Beacon.
“The Democrats on the committee paid high-priced law firm Jenner & Block a total of $699,294 to lead their attempt to overturn the election results, which had already been officially certified by Iowa’s secretary of state after a recount,” The Free Beacon noted. Republicans on the committee retained law firm Jones Day to respond to the challenge, paying it a substantially smaller sum of $126,942, according to committee records requested by the Washington Free Beacon.
Rep. Rodney Davis (R-IL), the ranking member on the Committee on House Administration, said the Democratic challenge will ultimately add up to over $1 million. He asserted, “At the end of the day, more than a million in taxpayer dollars will have been wasted on Speaker Pelosi’s efforts to steal an election in order to grow her majority. Iowa’s process was bipartisan, transparent, timely, and the outcome was never in doubt. This contest should have never been filed and Democrats on this committee should have dismissed it before a penny of tax dollars went to any law firm.”
Last March, The Free Beacon noted, “Hidden in the House rules package is a provision for ‘Further Expenses for Resolving Contested Elections,’ a one-year fund lawmakers can tap in their quest to overturn a House election they lost in Iowa. … A provision in the House Democrats’ rules package ‘authorizes such sums as may be necessary for the Committee on House Administration to resolve contested elections. Funds shall be available for expenses incurred between January 3, 2021, and January 3, 2022.”
Meeks served 24 years in the Army as a private, nurse and doctor; she also served as the Director of the Iowa Department of Public Health from 2010 to 2014. “The November 3 election was the narrowest margin of victory in a U.S. House race since 1984, when Francis McCloskey (D) defeated Richard McIntyre (R) by four votes in Indiana’s 8thCongressional district,” Ballotpedia noted.
It’s no wonder Pelosi & Co. wanted to overturn Iowa’s results; the Democrats currently have a paltry eight-vote majority in the House, 221-213. NBC News noted in early November:
In October, House Democrats were dealt a big blow when fixtures of the party announced their retirement, including David Price of North Carolina and Mike Doyle of Pennsylvania, who have a combined six decades of experience. … Other notable Democratic retirements include Reps. Ann Kirkpatrick of Arizona; Cheri Bustos of Illinois; and Ron Kind of Wisconsin. So far, roughly a dozen House Democrats have announced retirements or plans to run for a different office.