Republican investigations proceed despite House Speaker drama: 'Keeping our foot on the gas'
House Republicans' sprawling oversight investigations into the Biden administration are continuing apace despite the vote Tuesday to oust former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, which left the chamber's top office vacant.
Multiple House committees — which are conducting investigations on everything from President Biden's border policies and disastrous Afghanistan withdrawal to how his climate agenda may benefit China and his son Hunter's business dealings — are proceeding with their oversight, GOP lawmakers, staff and aides told Fox News Digital. The continuation of the House probes comes days after McCarthy was voted out in a stunning 216-210 vote.
"The House Committee on Homeland Security is going to continue our comprehensive oversight of Secretary Mayorkas’ dereliction of duty and the handling of his self-inflicted crisis at the Southwest border," Homeland Security Committee Chairman Mark Green, R-Tenn., told Fox News Digital. "We are also keeping our foot on the gas with investigations into issues like DHS’s censorship of Americans and President Biden’s botched Afghanistan withdrawal."
"Functionally, very little has changed for our Committee — we are still planning hearings, gathering evidence, and conducting transcribed interviews with individuals closely connected to these important issues," he continued. "The American people sent us here to deal with these matters, and we’re going to keep doing so, and the political back-and-forth of Washington is not going to distract us from our objectives — getting answers, delivering accountability, and providing a voice for the American people who are fed up with the incompetence and extremism of the Biden administration."
Under Green's leadership, the committee has pursued investigations into Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas' "dereliction of duty" related to border security, the rising number of individuals with terrorist ties illegally crossing the southern border, and the Biden administration’s vetting of Afghan citizens relocated to the U.S. after the August 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan.
The Homeland Security Committee has also pursued joint investigations into Mayorkas, and the Department of Homeland Security and its subagencies including Customs and Border Protection with the House Select Committee on China and House Oversight and Accountability Committee.
"The House Oversight Committee’s work continues," an Oversight Committee spokesperson told Fox News Digital. "The Committee is continuing to review documents, records, and communications and will take further action in the coming days."
The Oversight Committee has taken the lead on a wide range of investigations into various Biden administration programs and actions. The panel, which has broad investigative powers, has coordinated joint investigations with other committees into the administration over, for example, its border policies, its handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and an incident where police were called on Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm's staff during an electric vehicle road trip.
The panel has also led the House's investigations into the Biden family with a particular focus on the president's son who has previously engaged in various foreign business dealings. Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer opened an impeachment inquiry against Biden last month as part of that investigation.
"Since assuming our Republican majority in January, the House Oversight and Accountability Committee has uncovered a mountain of evidence revealing how Joe Biden abused his public office for his family’s financial gain," Comer remarked during a Sept. 28 impeachment inquiry hearing.
"The American people demand accountability for this culture of corruption," he continued. "They demand to know how these schemes have compromised President Biden and threaten our national security."
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In addition, the House Natural Resources Committee has taken the lead on oversight into the Biden administration's efforts to curb federal land uses for energy development. The committee has also pursued investigations into the relationship between environmental groups with significant White House influence and foreign donors.
"We are continuing with our normal operations here on committee," Natural Resources Committee spokesperson Rebekah Hoshiko told Fox News Digital. "No House proceedings have changed the fact that the Biden administration’s failed policies are actively harming American families, and they need to be held accountable. Lots more to come in our oversight efforts."
The House Energy and Commerce Committee has opened wide-ranging probes into both health and energy policies pursued by the Biden administration.
For example, the committee is conducting oversight into federal laboratory biosafety practices and the handling of dangerous pathogens in bioresearch, the National Institutes of Health’s effectiveness in overseeing grant funding, and how the aggressive push to adopt electric vehicles may benefit Chinese industry.
Recently, the committee announced a probe into U.S. automaker Ford Motor Company over its partnership with Chinese battery firm Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL). Weeks after the announcement, Ford put the project on hold and said it wasn't committed to the investment.
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"From surging gas prices to the crisis at the southern border, the American people deserve accountability from the Biden administration for making their lives worse," a GOP Energy and Commerce Committee aide told Fox News Digital. "Our oversight work is continuing."
The motion to vacate the speaker was filed late Monday by Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., and joined by seven fellow Republicans and every House Democrat. Following the vote Tuesday, McCarthy, who served for just 269 days, said he wouldn't run for speaker again.
Reps. Steve Scalise, R-La., the House majority leader; Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, who chairs the House Judiciary Committee; Tom Emmer, R-Minn., the House majority whip; Mike Johnson, R-La., Jodey Arrington, R-Texas; and Kevin Hern, R-Okla., who chairs the Republican Study Committee, have all been floated as possible replacements to McCarthy.
Scalise and Jordan both announced they would formally run for House Speaker on Wednesday.