The Coming Republican Inquisition
Biden has been spared the harassment of congressional investigations. That could change for the worse in November—unless Democrats can hold the House.
August 30, 2022
J. Scott Applewhite/AP Photo
Rep. Jim Banks (R-IN), left, and Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH), the top Republican on the Judiciary Committee, speak to reporters following a Republican Conference meeting at the Capitol in Washington, June 8, 2022.
Republicans are salivating over the prospect of taking control of the House, not because of their power to legislate—President Biden still holds the veto pen—but because of their power to harass. Prospective GOP committee chairs-in-waiting are already laying plans for multiple inquisitions.
Top of the list: Attorney General Merrick Garland and his investigation and likely prosecution of former President Trump. As Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (who would become Speaker) wrote after the search of Mar-a-Lago, the attorney general should “preserve your documents and clear your calendar.” FBI chief Christopher Wray is also a prime target.
Another of the Republican ultras, Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, a close McCarthy ally, would become chair of the Judiciary Committee, a prime locus of harassment of the Justice Department. The FBI has been the focus of Republican ire, and we could witness the spectacle of House Republicans using their investigative and subpoena power to interfere with an ongoing investigation and prosecution by law enforcement.
A key target for pure harassment would be the president’s son, Hunter Biden, who has been the subject of obsessive Republican attention. Rep. Jim Banks of Indiana, chair of the Republican Study Committee and a candidate for whip, can hardly wait. “Hunter Biden skates free while DOJ executes a political plot to destroy lives of political opponents,” tweeted Banks. “This is un-American and @Jim_Jordan led Judiciary Committee hearings in January can’t come soon enough!”
A prime venue would be the Committee on Oversight and Reform. Rep. Jim Comer of Kentucky, in line to become chair, has let it be known that he has been in conversation with other prospective chairs to divide the turf, so that they do not trip over each other.
But Comer may have to arm-wrestle Jordan. He told the Louisville Courier Journal, “I am the lead investigator on Hunter Biden. I have found some pretty big things, and it has expanded to Joe Biden. We have concerns that some of the president’s policy decisions were made because of Hunter’s business dealings.” Comer told Fox News, “We view Hunter Biden as a national security risk.” Comer also plans to call DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on the carpet and demand reinstatement of Trump border policies, including building Trump’s wall, separating kids from families as a deterrent, and bottling up refugees in Mexico.
The current chair of the Oversight Committee is Carolyn Maloney of New York, who just lost her primary and will not be in the next Congress. The Democrat next in line to be chair (or ranking minority member if Republicans take the House) is Steve Lynch, an undistinguished machine Democrat from Boston. Jamie Raskin is third in line. It might be smart of Democrats to elevate Raskin as the top Democrat on Oversight, as a far more effective check on Comer.
All the successful Biden initiatives that require executive action will be targets. Biden’s student debt cancellation and related reforms depend on extensive follow-up. Likewise his effort to beef up the IRS, a longtime Republican scapegoat. Kevin Brady of Texas, a Trumper, would chair Ways and Means. He has attacked the IRS for “the repeated targeting of conservative groups and the dangerous leaking of private tax returns under the Obama and Biden Administrations”—total fabrications.
A key target for pure harassment would be the president’s son, Hunter Biden, who has been the subject of obsessive Republican attention.
Republicans have plans to hound Dr. Anthony Fauci, who will soon turn 82, even in retirement. “It’s good to know that with his retirement, Dr. Fauci will have ample time to appear before Congress and share under oath what he knew about the Wuhan lab, as well as the ever-changing guidance under his watch that resulted in wrongful mandates being imposed on Americans,” House Minority Whip Steve Scalise said in a statement.
Another area where House Republicans plan investigative hearings is Biden’s pullout from Afghanistan. In a 113-page report from the House Foreign Affairs Committee minority, Republicans contend that President Joe Biden did not properly prepare for the withdrawal and failed to evacuate many Afghans who worked with the U.S. during the 20-year war there. In pursuing these charges, Republicans may have some company from Democrats.
One schism that might slow down Republicans is the division between those who want mainly to harass and hobble the Biden administration, and the hard core who hope to relitigate the spurious claims of election fraud and the attempted coup of January 6th.
Most members of the Republican House Caucus, though disinclined to criticize Trump, want to move on. Yet some of the most powerful and extreme members, such as Jordan, were infuriated by the success of the January 6th Committee, which had no Trump loyalists challenging the committee’s coherent investigation and narrative.
If Jordan and others were to reopen that issue, they would rally the MAGA base—and badly divide their own caucus. In late July, McCarthy and Banks promised their own January 6th report, with Nancy Pelosi as the prime target. Seriously?
Of course, all this mayhem and more could be avoided if Democrats can hold the House, a prospect that is looking a little more plausible lately. Otherwise, expect another constitutionally dangerous circus.
Robert Hitt provided research assistance on this column.
Robert Kuttner
Robert Kuttner is co-founder and co-editor of The American Prospect, and professor at Brandeis University’s Heller School.