Republicans defended former President Trump after he announced Tuesday he was the target of the federal Jan. 6 investigation focusing on his efforts to overturn the 2020 election, criticizing the government for his prosecution.

Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) suggested Tuesday that the government was targeting Trump out of fear he could win next November.

“Recently President Trump went up in the polls and was actually surpassing President Biden for reelection. So what do they do now? Weaponize government to go after their No. 1 opponent,” he told reporters.

“This is not equal justice. They treat people differently and they go after their adversaries,” said McCarthy, who after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol said Trump “bears responsibility” for what happened.

Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) walks through Statuary Hall following a vote on Tuesday, July 18, 2023. (Greg Nash)

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) also questioned the timing of the new development in the Jan. 6 investigation and whether there was a double standard being applied to the former president.

He noted that the news comes as the House Oversight Committee is slated to hear testimony from two IRS whistleblowers this week who alleged an investigation into Hunter Biden was slow-walked by prosecutors.

“Now you see the Biden administration going after President Trump once again, it begs that question — is there a double standard? Is justice being administered equally?” he said at the House GOP conference presser.

Trump said in a statement that he received the letter notifying him of the investigation Sunday evening, an indication that the former president could soon face charges in a second federal case.

He pleaded not guilty to 37 federal counts in a separate case in June in connection with his mishandling of classified documents and attempting to keep them from the government.

The Jan. 6 investigation is being spearheaded by special counsel Jack Smith, who was appointed last year to determine “whether any person or entity unlawfully interfered with the transfer of power.”

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) also ramped up her attacks on the Justice Department after Trump announced his news, saying that it is “absolute bulls—” to reporters. She said that the charges are “ridiculous” and that Smith is “weaponizing” the Justice Department against Trump.

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“If this is the direction America is going — we are worse than Russia, we are worse than China. We are worse than some of the most corrupt third world countries, and this needs to end,” she said in a video captured by CSPAN. “It’s an absolute lie.”

She also took to Twitter to call Smith a “weak little b—-.”

“Jack Smith is a lousy attorney,” Greene tweeted. “His career is filled with mistrials, overturned cases, and judicial rebukes. He only targets Republicans because he’s a weak little b—- for the Democrats.”

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) asks questions during a House Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic hearing entitled, ‘Investigating the Proximal Origin of a Cover Up’ on Tuesday, July 11, 2023. (Greg Nash)

Republican Reps. Jim Jordan (Ohio) and Mary Miller (Ill.) also echoed their colleagues’ sentiments about the news.

“Joe Biden’s DOJ: Attack the Portland Federal Courthouse? No problem. Intimidate #SCOTUS justices to influence a court decision? No big deal. But if you’re President Trump and do nothing wrong? PROSECUTE. Americans are tired of the double standard!” Jordan, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, said in a tweet.

“The DOJ has become a political agency, targeting Joe Biden’s political opponents while covering up Joe Biden’s crimes. The DOJ is attacking our democracy by actively interfering in the 2024 Election,” Miller said in a tweet. “I will join Chairman Jim Jordan in his effort to stop the partisan hacks at DOJ!”

This story was updated at 1:13 p.m.

Emily Brooks contributed.