After Kevin McCarthy was elected speaker of the House by his fellow Republicans last week — on the 15th ballot and after making concessions to hard-right members of his party — he offered a rosy preview of Republican control. The speaker said that under his leadership the House would end “wasteful Washington spending,” improve the lot of Americans and provide a check on the Biden administration.
In its first moves the GOP-led House has taken some steps to make the legislative process more transparent, such as requiring a 72-hour period in which members can review the content of legislation before it can be voted on.
However, the House has also moved to make it harder to investigate corruption by its members. Moreover, rather than simply conducting robust oversight of the Biden administration, House Republicans seem intent on launching blatantly partisan investigations that could undermine the intelligence community and the criminal justice system.
