White House Refuses To Honor GOP Oversight Requests

Republicans have been vocal about their intention to launch multiple probes upon taking control of the House of Representatives next week.

Those plans have included filing oversight requests with the White House, but the Biden administration signaled this week that it will not make things easy for the GOP.

White House special counsel Richard Suber sent a letter to Reps. Jim Jordan (R-OH) and James Comer (R-KY) — in line to be the next chairs of the judiciary committee and oversight committee, respectively — advising that the executive branch is not required to recognize such requests from the minority party.

As a result, they will need to refile the paperwork after the upcoming legislative session begins.

“Congress has not delegated such [oversight] authority to individual members of Congress who are not committee chairmen, and the House has not done so under its current Rules,” Sauber explained.

Republicans of the House Judiciary Committee responded with a tweet criticizing both the White House and Politico, which broke the story, for the way the matter was handled.

Comer issued a similarly scathing statement, accusing President Joe Biden of promising “to have the most transparent administration in history” but has instead sought to stymie GOP oversight efforts and “hide information from the American people.”

His statement went on to detail a number of the investigations that House Republicans have already vowed to tackle upon regaining a majority in the chamber.

“Just before dawn at 4:33 a.m., the White House informed us they will not provide the answers we have been seeking for the American people on important issues such as the border and fentanyl crisis, the energy crisis, botched Afghanistan withdrawal, COVID origins, and the Biden family’s influence peddling,” he wrote. “Why is the Biden Administration hiding this information? Republicans are undeterred by the Biden Administration’s obstruction and will continue pressing for the answers, transparency, and accountability that the American people deserve.”

Sauber’s letter did extend a meager olive branch to Republican leaders, advising that if they “issue similar or other requests in the 118th Congress, we will review and respond to them in good faith, consistent with the needs and obligations of both branches.