Congressional Investigations

The 18-month House Democratic-led inquiry into former President Donald Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election, culminating in the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, is now being followed by investigations by House Republicans into myriad aspects of the Biden administration. Even when the legislative process has been gridlocked, congressional investigations often shed light on illegal activities of abuses of power and have fueled important policy reforms. But the relentless parallel criticisms of recent inquiries — each party accused of abusing its subpoena power as part of a crusade to destroy the other's leader — threaten to deeply stain the role of oversight. While some point to the work of the Jan. 6 committee as evidence such probes can still be bipartisan and effective, others argue that little substantial change occurs, with the public concluding such investigations are no more than evidence of Washington's partisan dysfunction.