House Republicans are wasting no time when it comes to their promised investigations. After about a year of vowing to launch a long series of probes into various matters concerning President Joe Biden and his administration, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) and his crew are already preparing to make good on the GOP’s promises.
Republican lawmakers on the House Judiciary Committee sent letters to Chief of Staff Ron Klain and other White House officials requesting testimony from various members of the administration. GOP legislators will be using these testimonies for investigations into the illegal immigrant crisis, alleged bias at the Justice Department and FBI, Joe Biden’s connections to his son’s business deals, and other issues.
“The American people elected a new House Republican majority because the past two years of one-party Democrat rule have failed America,” McCarthy said. “These actions by the Biden administration deserve oversight and accountability, which Republicans will pursue in the new Congress … Every congressional committee has an oversight responsibility, and we intend to finally get the answers the American people deserve.”
In the letter, McCarthy reminded Klain that House Republicans “have made several requests for information and documents concerning the Biden Administration’s misuse of federal criminal and counterterrorism resources to target concerned parents at school board meetings,” and noted that they “have ignored these requests.” The lawmaker cautioned that if the White House continues brushing off his demands, Republicans “may be forced to resort to compulsory process to obtain the material we require.”
Department of Education
House Republicans are requesting testimony from officials in the Department of Education as they look into the details of the administration’s collusion with the National School Board Association (NSBA) to label parents concerned about problematic material in schools as “domestic terrorists.” The lawmakers sent letters to Kimberly Watkins-Foote, director of the national engagement division, Larry Bowden, senior adviser to the secretary, and Nicholas Simmons, special assistant to the office of the secretary.
This scandal was a particular source of contention amid national debate over school districts infusing far-leftist ideas into K-12 classrooms. Parents showed up at school board meetings to stage protests, some of which became quite raucous. In response, the NSBA sent a letter to the Justice Department ostensibly to ask the agency to lend its assistance in dealing with supposed threats coming from the individuals who participated in the demonstrations.
Homeland Security Department
Alejandro Mayorkas (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
The House Judiciary Committee has requested the testimony of 11 officials from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Among these individuals is DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, who has come under fire for his mishandling of the ongoing migrant crisis. He has claimed that the border is “secure,” but Republicans have routinely brought up the record number of illegal immigrants entering the country by crossing the southern border.
Last week, McCarthy put Mayorkas on notice, threatening to launch impeachment proceedings against the directror if he does not cooperate with the investigation. The Biden administration has failed to make meaningful progress when it comes to curbing the swarm of illegal immigrants traveling to the border. As a result, Border Patrol has been stretched thin and these individuals are being released in various parts of the country. The questioning will likely focus on the lack of effort to address this ongoing problem.
Department of Justice
The GOP lawmakers sent another letter to the Justice Department, informing Attorney General Merrick Garland they would be requesting the testimony of 15 officials, including Garland himself. FBI Director Christopher Wray is another official who will be expected to testify. The Washington Examiner reported:
“The testimony is likely to be in reference to the department’s handling of its investigations into Donald Trump because Republicans have accused the department of being politically biased against the former president. Republicans’ investigations are expected to home in on the raid of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home, during which the FBI and DOJ obtained several boxes of classified White House documents.”
The White House Pushback
As House Republicans prepare their investigations, the White House is readying its defense. As Liberty Nation previously reported, Biden’s team is reportedly seeking the support of nonprofit groups with connections to major Democratic donors. The New York Times reported:
“The efforts appear intended to take pressure off the administration by pushing back in a more adversarial manner than Mr. Biden’s team on sensitive subjects, including the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, the administration’s Covid response and — perhaps most notably — the foreign business dealings of Hunter Biden.”
A nonprofit organization called Facts First USA put out a memo in which it said “[t]he White House cannot be the sole nucleus for publicly responding to the onslaught of congressional investigations.”
The document goes on to describe a $5 million-a-year “SWAT team to counter Republican congressional investigations,” especially on matters that “may be too personal or delicate for the White House to be responding or even be seen as directing a response.” This appears to be a reference to upcoming investigations into Hunter Biden’s business activities. David Brock, the head of Facts First, said the organization “intends to work with the White House where appropriate but will make our own judgments.”
The Congressional Integrity Project initiative will also join the battle on Biden’s behalf. The group “is committed to exposing the reality behind Republicans’ politically motivated oversight and investigations targeting President Biden and Democrats,” according to its website. Founder Kyle Herrig told Politico the organization will deploy rapid response teams, pollsters, investigative researchers, and a full-on media campaign designed to put Republicans “squarely on the defense.”
These groups will likely be on the front lines of the effort to fend off Republican attacks. It can be expected that the activist media will also lend its support to the Biden administration. If these developments are any indication, the nation is in for quite a rollercoaster over the next two years.