Congressional Investigations and the Rules of the 118th Congress

Congressional Investigations and the Rules of the 118th Congress

April 27, 2023, Covington Alert

At the start of a new Congress, the House and Senate, and their committees, adopt internal rules that govern their operations, including rules that affect congressional investigations. These rules are often revised from Congress to Congress. To assist our clients responding to congressional investigations, this alert summarizes the rules for the 118th Congress of the House, Senate, and key investigative committees related to congressional investigations, with a particular focus on the rules related to subpoena authority, depositions, and, where applicable, confidentiality.

In December 2022, we predicted that Congressional investigations would thrive in divided government, and this prediction is turning out to be correct. As we said then, with a constrained ability to advance policy through legislation, Members are more likely to turn to investigations as a means of making headlines and affecting private sector practices. Already in 2023, committees in both chambers have launched investigations across a broad range of subjects.  The following chart and narrative summarize the rules that currently apply to those investigations.