The Washington Post - Opinion - Welcome to the Congress of endless investigations

18 Nov 2022

Now that Republicans have secured a House majority, what will they do with their power? Because Democrats control the Senate and the White House, Republicans can’t pass legislation. 

 

But there is one thing they can do: mount investigations. ...

 

The border. Expect hearings that solicit lurid testimony about crimes committed by immigrants, but not much actual policy discussion. 

 

The FBI and Justice Department. In a bizarre turn, Republicans have decided that the FBI - perhaps the most conservative agency in the federal government - is a hotbed of leftists and Democratic partisans. 

 

The IRS. Republicans were incensed that the Inflation Reduction Act included a significant funding increase for the IRS, which will allow it to shore up its aging systems and go after wealthy tax cheats.

 

The covid-19 pandemic. Republicans are eager to scrutinize the origins of the coronavirus and the possibility that it escaped from a Chinese lab, which has become an obsession on the right-wing fringe. 

 

Afghanistan. An opportunity to  beat up on the administration.

 

Hunter, Hunter, Hunter. President Biden’s son Hunter will be more than a subject of inquiry. He will be the sun around which the new Republican House revolves: its fixation, its passion, its beginning and its end.