Although the 2026 midterm results end Republican control of Congress—and the congressional subpoena authority that comes with it—they do not end the Republican oversight agenda. As we have seen from Democratic Members in the minority for the last two years, we can expect Republican Members to use oversight as a political messaging tool, especially in the run-up to the 2028 presidential election. When the 120th Congress convenes in January, Republican Members are likely to pursue their investigative priorities through minority letters and reports and through coordination with executive branch agencies and Republican state attorneys general and state legislatures. For many organizations that have been targets of Republican oversight, the loss of Republican congressional subpoena authority will shift investigative risk toward federal agencies and state officials, which have their own enforcement tools, including tools that the congressional minority lacks. This alert addresses those dynamics and the oversight priorities that Republican Members will carry into the next Congress.
Minority Tools, Executive Branch and State Coordination, and the 2028 Campaign
Republican Members will retain the traditional tools of the minority, such as minority request letters and minority reports. Minority reports may draw on documents and testimony that committees obtained while Republicans held the majority. Companies and organizations that produced documents to the current Republican majority should anticipate that those materials could resurface publicly in the 120th Congress.
With fewer moderate voices, the reduced Republican conference is likely to coordinate more closely with the White House and to lean on the executive branch to obtain documents and testimony that the congressional minority can no longer compel. Without subpoena authority, Republican Members may refer matters to the Department of Justice and other agencies, or raise the prospect of executive branch enforcement, to pressure organizations that decline voluntary requests.
Republican state attorneys general offer Republican Members a third avenue. State attorneys general hold civil investigative demand authority under state laws and have pursued many of the same issues as congressional Republicans. Organizations that receive a Republican minority request letter should consider that a congressional letter could prompt a parallel agency or state inquiry.
Following losses in congressional, gubernatorial, and other state races, Republican Members will use oversight to rebuild the party’s message ahead of the 2028 presidential race and to identify issue areas in which Republicans can seek to regain Americans’ confidence. Even without control of Congress, the Republican conference will seek to counter Democratic messaging, elevate issues popular with the Republican base, and draw contrasts with potential Democratic presidential candidates. Partisan use of oversight is poised to intensify as the 2028 primaries approach.
House Republican leaders have already signaled that they will prioritize defending against Democratic investigations, while pursuing the conference’s own investigative agenda. Current Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) and Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) have made that priority central to their newly announced campaigns to lead House Republicans in the minority next year. Rep. Jordan has pledged to coordinate the conference’s response to Democratic investigative efforts, and Rep. Scalise called for the Republican conference to “coordinate our defense against aggressive oversight.” Rep. Scalise further directed House Republican committee chairs to identify likely targets of Democratic oversight, including “conservative partners and industry leaders,” and to consider the potential oversight implications of recent Supreme Court decisions and an August 2026 Department of Justice Office of Legal Counsel opinion addressing executive privilege. Organizations that receive requests from Democratic-led committees should consider engaging with Republican minority staff, who may press for narrower requests or offer a public counternarrative.
At the same time, companies and organizations should watch for some Republican Members, particularly those who will face competitive races in 2028, to work with Democratic Members on bipartisan investigations. Those Members have strong incentives to focus on the cost-of-living concerns that shaped many 2026 races and to continue bipartisan work on technology, China, and other subjects discussed below. Many incoming Democratic Members may share an interest in working across the aisle, such as the Democratic Members who represent districts that President Trump won in 2024.
The subjects of Republican oversight are unlikely to change significantly in the 120th Congress, but the framing, intensity, and objectives of Republican-led investigations, and the institutions conducting them, will. We describe below key subjects we expect to draw continued Republican scrutiny following the 2026 midterms.
Enduring Oversight Targets and Investigative Priorities
- Nonprofits: Few sectors have received more sustained Republican attention in the current Congress than the nonprofit sector. These inquiries have included allegations of funding violent extremist groups, circumventing Federal Election Commission rules, and receiving financial support from or acting as an undisclosed agent for a foreign government. As President Trump’s second term enters its final two years, Republican Members will continue to scrutinize organizations that they view as impeding the President’s agenda and to seek action from executive branch agencies or other authorities.
- Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), Higher Education, and Accreditation: The investigation of DEI programs has been a central focus of the current Congress, and that focus has reached accreditation bodies, including the American Bar Association. Universities are likely to remain targets of inquiries concerning antisemitism and foreign funding. Organizations should prepare for Republican Members to pursue those issues from the minority and through pushing for actions at the executive branch agencies responsible for civil rights compliance, accreditation, and federal funding.
- Immigration: Oversight related to immigration has been central to the Republicans’ recent congressional investigations agenda and is likely to continue given the Trump administration’s focus on immigration enforcement, although the 2026 results may lead Republicans to temper that focus. In March 2025, the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform held a hearing with the mayors of several cities on sanctuary policies; three months later, the Committee held a similar hearing with governors. Immigration-related inquiries are likely to remain closely tied to broader political narratives, including efforts to highlight policy differences among federal, state, and local officials. Republican Members may use those inquiries to draw contrasts with potential 2028 Democratic candidates, including governors who testified before the Committee in 2025.
- Waste, Fraud, and Abuse of Government Funds: Rooting out waste, fraud, and abuse in federal spending has been a core oversight priority for Republican lawmakers that is likely to continue despite a Democratic-controlled Congress. Republican investigations have targeted federal contractors, grant recipients, and state and local Medicaid programs. In the minority, Republican Members may increasingly refer alleged fraud to the new Department of Justice National Fraud Enforcement Division or other executive branch agencies. A referral of that kind could convert a minority inquiry into a criminal or civil enforcement matter.
- Financial Services and Markets: Republican Members are likely to continue their oversight of environmental, social, and governance investing practices, as well as whether major banks and asset managers have engaged in coordinated efforts to deny financial services—also called “debanking”—to industries such as firearms, fossil fuels, and private prisons. Sports betting and prediction markets are increasingly attracting bipartisan attention and will likely continue to do so in the 120th Congress.
- Energy and Transportation: Republican Members are likely to continue their oversight of federal transportation, energy, and climate policy, with an emphasis on promoting domestic fossil fuel and critical minerals production while challenging regulatory actions that Republican Members perceive as favoring renewable energy at the expense of reliability and affordability. Expect continued Republican scrutiny of electric-vehicle mandates and of China-linked vehicles, hardware, and software. Competition and regulation in the airline industry are also likely to remain areas of interest.
- Healthcare and Pharmaceutical Oversight: The Trump administration’s emphasis on drug affordability suggests that health insurers and pharmacy benefit managers will remain Republican priorities. Republican Members could continue to scrutinize the regulation of medication abortion drugs, COVID-19 vaccine approval processes, and healthcare organizations that provide gender-affirming care. With Democratic leaders pledging to investigate President Trump’s most-favored-nation drug pricing agreements with pharmaceutical manufacturers, Republican Members may seek to counter those investigations with investigations of other healthcare and pharmaceutical topics.
- Antitrust and Competition: Antitrust and competition will remain an area for oversight on both sides of the aisle, but Republican investigators are likely to continue scrutinizing competition and consumer choice through the lens of viewpoint diversity and political bias. The Senate Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy, and Consumer Rights hearing on Netflix’s proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. illustrated that approach.
- Artificial Intelligence (AI), Social Media, and Privacy: Republican oversight of the technology sector is likely to continue focusing on topics with bipartisan resonance, such as online child safety and AI-driven price surveillance. Republican Members of Congress will have some influence on the direction of bipartisan technology investigations and can be expected to continue their focus on the censorship of conservative viewpoints and alleged “algorithmic discrimination” in AI systems. Privacy concerns about AI-enabled surveillance and the collection of Americans’ personal data have similarly drawn bipartisan scrutiny. Republican Members, including Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), are likely to continue that focus.
- China: China has been one of the few areas of consistent bipartisan oversight across recent Congresses, although the framing and targets of investigations have shifted depending on leadership priorities. Under Republican leadership in the current Congress, China-related oversight has had a broad scope, spanning topics such as universities, nonprofits, biotechnology, and AI. Republican-supported scrutiny is likely to center on semiconductor supply chains, U.S. investments in China-based companies, and whether federal subsidies adequately protect sensitive technologies from diversion, espionage, or acquisition by China.
If you have any questions regarding the issues discussed in this alert, or would like assistance preparing for potential congressional inquiries, please contact the authors or any member of our congressional investigations practice.
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