'Defund the FBI!' Trump allies are not happy with Mar-a-Lago raid.

After former President Donald Trump announced Monday that FBI agents had searched his Mar-a-Lago residence, apparently seeking classified documents he failed to hand back to the government, "supporters of the former president reacted in the kind of calm, measured tone we've come to expect from the MAGA movement," Rex Huppke deadpanned at USA Today.
A couple dozen Trump supporters gathered outside Mar-a-Lago on Monday night to vent their anger about the raid. Prominent Republican lawmakers and officials complained about "politicization" of the Justice Department. There were many mentions of Hunter Biden and Hillary Clinton, and a lot of comparing the FBI's execution of a search warrant to various dictatorships, totalitarian regimes, and "Banana Republics." Several conservatives called for dismantling the FBI.
"The FBI must be legally and formally dissolved," tweeted Candace Owens. Russ Vought, a former Trump White House official, told Fox News host Laura Ingraham that the FBI search of Mar-a-Lago "is a wake-up call for those in Congress to be able to use the tools at their disposal to defund the FBI, to ask the right questions, and to prepare for a Church-style commission next year if given a Republican majority to dismantle the FBI into a thousand bits." Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) was more succinct.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Govs. Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.) and Kristi Noem (R-S.D.) both decried what they called the "weaponization" of the federal government against Trump. And House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) combined those thoughts, saying the Justice Department has "reached an intolerable state of weaponized politicization" and vowing "immediate oversight of this department" if Republicans win back the House.
"Many of the Republicans aghast at the FBI raid had supported FBI probes of former secretary of state Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server in 2016," The Washington Post notes. But tastes change, Dan Rather suggested.
Nicole Wallace, an official in the George W. Bush White House, suggested that the self-evidence of the FBI's search should temper the ire of Trump supporters. "Everyone close to Trump knows he's a liar," she told MSNBC's Rachel Maddow. "They're acutely aware of his penchant for mishandling classified information" and destroying National Archives–bound documents, dating back to the earliest days of his presidency.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
June 1 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Sunday's political cartoons include Donald Trump's golden comb-over, brain drain in America, and a new TACO presidential seal.
-
5 cartoons about the TACO trade
Cartoons Political cartoonists take on America's tariffs, Vladimir Putin waiting for taco Tuesday, and a new presidential seal
-
A city of culture in the high Andes
The Week Recommends Cuenca is a must-visit for those keen to see the 'real Ecuador'
-
White House tackles fake citations in MAHA report
speed read A federal government public health report spearheaded by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was rife with false citations
-
Judge blocks push to bar Harvard foreign students
speed read Judge Allison Burroughs sided with Harvard against the Trump administration's attempt to block the admittance of international students
-
Trump's trade war whipsawed by court rulings
Speed Read A series of court rulings over Trump's tariffs renders the future of US trade policy uncertain
-
What's next for Elon Musk?
Today's Big Question The world's richest man has become 'disillusioned' with politics – but returning to his tech empire presents its own challenges
-
Trump's super-charged pardon push raises eyebrows and concerns
IN THE SPOTLIGHT Never shy about using his pardon ability for political leverage, Trump's spate of amnesty announcements suggests the White House is taking things to a new level
-
Elon Musk departs Trump administration
speed read The former DOGE head says he is ending his government work to spend more time on his companies
-
Trump taps ex-personal lawyer for appeals court
speed read The president has nominated Emil Bove, his former criminal defense lawyer, to be a federal judge
-
US trade court nullifies Trump's biggest tariffs
speed read The US Court of International Trade says Trump exceeded his authority in imposing global tariffs