House Republicans are wasting no time to get their agenda underway as they prepare to take control of the lower chamber, alerting at least 42 officials in the Biden administration that they will be expected to testify in a slew of GOP-led investigations early next year.
Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee have sent letters to White House chief of staff Ron Klain and other top Biden administration officials, requesting testimony from a number of officials. The testimony is expected to be used for the party’s investigations into border security, suspected bias within the FBI and the Department of Justice, and the financial dealings of President Joe Biden’s son Hunter.
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“The American people elected a new House Republican majority because the past two years of one-party Democrat rule have failed America,” said House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), who is set to become House speaker in the next Congress. “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.”
The House Judiciary Committee sent five letters on Nov. 18 requesting testimony from certain Biden administration officials, including in the White House, the Department of Homeland Security, the DOJ, the FBI, and the Department of Education.
Here’s a breakdown of the 42 Biden administration officials who are expected to testify before Republicans next Congress:
White House staff
In a letter to Klain, the group of 19 Republicans led by Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) requested testimony from four White House staff members in relation to “the Biden Administration’s misuse of federal criminal and counterterrorism resources to target concerned parents at school board meetings.”
The request comes after Attorney General Merrick Garland issued a memo to law enforcement officials in October 2021 instructing them to address reported threats targeting school board officials, teachers, and school administrators. The memo came in response to a letter from the National School Boards Association a month earlier asking the Biden administration to investigate such threats.
However, the NSBA request has come under scrutiny by House Republicans who say the Executive Office of the President was involved in sending the letter, resulting in “collusion.”
The House Judiciary Committee requests testimony from the following White House officials:
- Mary C. Wall — Senior adviser of the COVID-19 Response Team
- Julie C. Rodriguez — Director of the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs
- Katherine Pantangco — Policy adviser for intergovernmental affairs
- Nezly Silva — Senior policy analyst for intergovernmental affairs
Department of Education
House Republicans have also requested the testimony of three officials inside the Department of Education for its investigation into the Biden administration’s alleged involvement with the NSBA letter. They are:
- Kimberly Watkins-Foote — Director of the national engagement division
- Larry Bowden — Senior adviser to the secretary
- Nicholas Simmons — Special assistant to the Office of the Secretary
Department of Homeland Security
The House Judiciary Committee also seeks the testimony of 11 officials inside the Department of Homeland Security, including from Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.
The testimony is likely to focus on the flux of immigrants coming into the United States from the southern border, which has significantly increased under the Biden administration. Republicans have previously demanded DHS officials preserve documents pertaining to the border, with some GOP lawmakers reportedly considering impeaching Mayorkas once they take control of the House in January.
The House Judiciary Committee requests testimony from the following DHS officials:
- Alejandro Mayorkas — Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security
- Ur M. Jaddou — U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
- Tae Johnson — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
- Kerry E. Doyle — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
- Blas Nunez-Neto — U.S. Customs and Border Protection
- Raul L. Ortiz – Chief of U.S. Border Patrol
- Jennifer Daskal — Office of the General Counsel
- Adam Hunter — Office of Strategy, Policy, and Plans
- Jen Easterly — Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency
- Geoff Hale — Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency
- Julia Treanor — Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency
Department of Justice
In a letter sent to the Department of Justice, House Republicans informed Garland they would be seeking the testimony of 15 officials — the most of any of the departments that received the Nov. 18 notices.
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 DOJ is investigating possible violations of the Espionage Act and obstruction of justice in its inquiry about the Mar-a-Lago document tranche, according to court documents. Trump has denied any wrongdoing.
The House Judiciary Committee requests testimony from the following DOJ officials:
- Merrick B. Garland — Attorney general
- Lisa Monaco — Deputy attorney general
- Vanita Gupta — Associate attorney general
- Kenneth A. Polite Jr. — Assistant attorney general for the Criminal Division
- Matthew G. Olsen — Assistant attorney general for the National Security Division
- Kristen Clarke — Assistant attorney general for the Civil Rights Division
- Jonathan Kanter — Assistant attorney general for the Antitrust Division
- Brian Boynton — Principal deputy assistant attorney general for the Civil Division
- Jacqueline C. Romero — U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
- Mark H. Wildasin — U.S. attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee
- Matthew M. Graves — U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia
- Mark A. Totten — U.S. attorney for the Western District of Michigan
- Susan Hennessey — Senior counsel, National Security Division
- Margy O’Herron — Office of the Deputy Attorney General
- David Neal — Executive Office for Immigration Review
FBI
Republicans are also requesting testimony from FBI officials as GOP lawmakers seek to investigate the agency for similar political bias against Trump.
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Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee have requested information and documents related to the agency’s conduct for nearly two years but said the FBI has “failed to respond sufficiently,” according to a letter sent to FBI Director Christopher Wray on Nov. 18.
The House Judiciary Committee requests testimony from the following FBI officials:
- Christopher A. Wray — FBI director
- Paul Abbate — FBI Deputy director
- Timothy Langan — Executive assistant director of the Criminal, Cyber, Response, and Services Branch
- Jennifer L. Moore — Executive assistant director of the Human Resources Branch
- Steven M. D’Antuono — Assistant director in charge of the Washington Field Office
- Carlton L. Peeples — Deputy assistant director of the Criminal Investigative Division
- Kevin Vorndran — Deputy assistant director of the Counterterrorism Division
- Laura Dehmlow — Section chief of the Foreign Influence Task Force
- Elvis Chan — Special agent with the San Francisco Field Office
