What to Know in Washington: House GOP Prepares Payback for Biden

The new Republican majority in the US House is readying a fusillade of investigations into President Joe Biden, his family and his administration, upholding a key promise of the midterm election campaigns following Democratic-led inquiries of former President Donald Trump.

The GOP probes will be spread among several existing House committees as well as newly created panels, including one focused on the Justice Department and intelligence agencies that conservatives accuse of targeting them. In the runup to the 2024 presidential race, Biden and his allies will be forced to counter attacks broadcast during numerous televised hearings.

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Chairman of the House Oversight Committee Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.) at the US Capitol on Tuesday.

Those targets for Republicans include:

• Hunter Biden: The House Oversight Committee, led by James Comer (R-Ky.), is examining the Biden family’s domestic and international business dealings to determine if they pose a threat to national security. Biden’s son Hunter Biden is at the center of the investigation.
• Justice Department: House Republicans voted Tuesday to establish a subcommittee to scrutinize what they call the “weaponization” of the federal government. The panel, led by Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), will examine Justice Department investigations, potentially including the current one into Trump.
• Afghanistan Withdrawal: The House Oversight Committee and the Foreign Affairs Committee, led by Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas), is expected to continue probes into the August 2021 withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan.
• US-Mexico Border: Republicans have blamed the Biden administration’s border policies for the increasing number of migrants at the US-Mexico border and have singled out Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.
• Internal Revenue Service: House Ways and Means Chairman Jason Smith (R-Mo.) has repeatedly pledged to investigate the Internal Revenue Service.
• Coronavirus Origins: Republicans are directing a special committee on the Covid-19 pandemic on longstanding complaints about the nation’s response.
• Read more from Jared Dillard

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Happening on the Hill

CONGRESS’ SCHEDULE:

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The House set up a new select committee Tuesday to come up with ways the US can counter China’s growing economic and strategic power, reflecting the broad sentiment in Congress for taking a confrontational approach in dealing with the world’s second largest economy.

House GOP Spending Freeze Would ‘Devastate’ Medical Research

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FTX Bankruptcy Law Firm Is Wrong Fit for Role, Senators Say

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Santos Says He’s Done Nothing Wrong as Democrats Seek Probe

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Lawmakers Cite ‘Vulnerabilities’ in Clear Airport Screening

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Elections & Politics

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Around the Administration

BIDEN’S SCHEDULE:

• The president has no public events scheduled. At 2 p.m., White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre gives a briefing.

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North America Joint Committee to Work on Import Alternates: AMLO

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Bolsonaro Finds a Refuge Near ‘Most Magical Place on Earth’

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China Calls Military Flights a Response to US-Taiwan ‘Collusion’

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To contact the reporter on this story: Michaela Ross in Washington at mross@bgov.com

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Andrew Small at asmall@bgov.com