The newly Republican-controlled House is kick-starting two new investigative panels on China and the alleged weaponization of the federal government, fulfilling long-held plans to probe the matters once they took power in the lower chamber.
A resolution to create the Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party passed overwhelmingly Tuesday. The Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government passed more narrowly, with the vote split along party lines.
Speaker Kevin McCarthy (Calif.) promised to create both panels as part of his concessions to fellow GOP lawmakers as he worked to secure the lower chamber’s top leadership slot.
House Democrats used their power in the last Congress to form the select committee to investigate the Jan. 6, 2021, attack at the U.S. Capitol, and Republicans’ new focus on China and the federal government underscores the priority shift under the new GOP majority.
Here’s what you need to know about the new investigative panels:
China ‘strategic competition’ select committee
The select committee on U.S.-China competition is set to probe the “strategic competition” between Beijing and Washington on economic, technological and security fronts.
Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.) will chair the panel expected to be made up of seven Republicans and five Democrats.
“Defending America from Chinese Communist Party aggression should not be partisan. The newly-created Select Committee on China will be a bipartisan committee in divided government,” McCarthy said on Twitter Tuesday.
The panel will be able to hold public hearings and is tasked with submitting policy recommendations on the information it uncovers.
The committee’s creation passed in a 365-65 vote, with bipartisan support from more than 100 House Democrats, though all “no” votes came from the left.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) said after the vote that House Democrats “will work in a serious, sober and strategic manner” with Republicans on the committee to evaluate the U.S. relationship with China’s government.
But Democrats “will firmly speak out against xenophobic rhetoric and conspiracy theories should this committee devolve into extreme MAGA Republican talking points that further anti-Asian hate crimes in this country,” Jeffries clarified.
‘Weaponization of the federal government’ select subcommittee
Housed under the Judiciary Committee, the select subcommittee on the “weaponization of the federal government” is poised to target ongoing investigations into former President Trump, including Justice Department and FBI probes of Trump’s involvement on Jan. 6 and his handling of classified documents after his time in office.
The panel has been billed as a “Church-style” probe, in reference to a 1970s Senate select committee under former Sen. Frank Church (D-Idaho) that looked at intelligence agency abuses.
Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), an outspoken Trump ally, will chair the panel that’s set to include 13 lawmakers.
McCarthy said on Twitter Tuesday that the committee “will bring accountability” to the federal government.
“America’s greatness is defined by the freedoms enshrined by our founders. When government colludes with private companies to infringe on those rights, it MUST answer for that abuse,” McCarthy said.
Though Democrats reportedly aim to take part in the panel, the entire party opposed its creation during the resolution vote.
Judiciary Committee ranking member Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) said after the vote that the new panel “will expend untold time and money undermining our nation’s law enforcement agencies, our justice system and our intelligence community, all for a political stunt catering to the extremist wing of the Republican Party.”
Both parties will be on both panels
Republicans are heading up both panels, but Democrats plan to represent alongside their across-the-aisle colleagues even as many voted against their formation.
“It is our intent to seat members on … every select committee, every subcommittee that the leadership on the majority side advances,” Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.) said Tuesday, though he said which Democratic lawmakers would head to either body isn’t yet set.
The choice to seat Democrats on the GOP’s new panels is a strategic shift from when Republicans, as the minority in the last Congress, largely abstained from the House Jan. 6 select committee.