One less crook in the government

| 7:00 pm EST February 16, 2023
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There are times when Republicans and Democrats can agree, and one of those times involves the Architect of the Capitol, Brett Blanton. The Hill reported on the outrage of members from both parties to the inspector general’s report on Blanton. According to that report, Blanton misused a government vehicle and allegedly impersonated a law enforcement officer, among other things. Kevin McCarthy called for his immediate resignation or removal from his office. McCarthy was joined in this request by Bryan Steil (R-WI) and Joseph Morelle (D-NY).

According to the inspector general’s report, Blanton and his family misused government vehicles as personal vehicles when these vehicles are to be used to go to work from home only. Costs on the vehicle rose to almost $14,000, indicating that these vehicles were used for more than just going to work. Blanton admitted during a hearing that he used one of the vehicles for an out-of-state family vacation, claiming that he was “under the impression” that he was required to use the vehicle. Oh, come on. This man knew what the vehicle was to be used for, and it certainly didn’t include family vacations. If he’s that daft, he doesn’t belong in the job anyway. Not surprisingly, Blanton was nominated by Donald Trump. Figures.

Another aspect of the architect’s job is to oversee the Capitol Police and the House Senate Sergeants at Arms. Yet, he was noticeably absent during the January 6 insurrection, claiming that “there would have been next to no way to get onto this campus.” He was probably afraid to come even though, given his position, he should have been present to lead the people he was to allegedly oversee. The Hill reported that Norma Torres (D-CA) spoke during the hearing, telling Blanton: “I am outraged to hear that you were in a comfortable place, sir, while the rest of us were thinking about dying that day and how we were going to come out alive.” Torres also called for his resignation following the hearing. Gregory Murphy (R-NC) also took issue with Blanton teleworking when he should have been present at the Capitol: “It absolutely blows me away, as Architect of the Capitol, why you are not here physically every day, all day.”

The outrage surrounding Blanton did not fall on deaf ears, as it was later reported that President Joe Biden fired him. President Biden has no use for people who abuse their governmental positions. They are paid by taxpayer dollars, and they are accountable to the people. If they cannot do the jobs with which they have been charged, they have no place in our government. It is unfortunate that we cannot terminate many more, as there is certainly more abuse in the system than reported. All abuse in the government needs to be found and weeded out. This is a big part of what’s wrong with our systems. People want these positions because they think it’s easy money, never once giving thought to the people who are responsible for their salaries. Good riddance to Blanton.