Background

On January 9, 2023, Rep. Jim Jordan, Chairman of the Committee on the Judiciary, introduced H. Res. 12, a resolution that established the Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government as a subcommittee of the Judiciary Committee. On January 10, 2023, the House adopted H. Res. 12 by a party line vote of 221 yeas, 211 nays, and 2 not voting. As Rep. Tom Cole, then-Chairman of the Committee on Rules, explained, the House established the Select Subcommittee to “bring abuses by the Federal Government into the light for the American people and ensure that Congress, as their elected representatives, can take appropriate action to remedy them.” 

As outlined in H. Res. 12, the House tasked the Select Subcommittee with investigating the following matters: 

(A) the expansive role of article II authority vested in the executive branch to collect information on or otherwise investigate citizens of the United States, including ongoing criminal investigations; 
(B) how executive branch agencies work with, obtain information from, and provide information to the private sector, non-profit entities, or other government agencies to facilitate action against American citizens, including the extent, if any, to which illegal or improper, unconstitutional, or unethical activities were engaged in by the executive branch or private sector against citizens of the United States; 
(C) how executive branch agencies collect, compile, analyze, use, or disseminate information about citizens of the United States, including any unconstitutional, illegal, or unethical activities committed against citizens of the United States; 
(D) the laws, programs, and activities of the executive branch as they relate to the collection of information on citizens of the United States and the sources and methods used for the collection of information on citizens of the United States; 
(E) any other issues related to the violation of the civil liberties of citizens of the United States; and 
(F) any other matter relating to information collected pursuant to the investigation conducted under this paragraph at any time during the One Hundred Eighteenth Congress. 

H. Res. 12 authorized the Committee on the Judiciary to issue subpoenas to be returned at the Select Subcommittee, and permitted the Select Subcommittee to receive information available to the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. 

As initially adopted, H. Res. 12 provided that the Select Subcommittee would be composed of “the chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on the Judiciary, together with not more than 13 other Members, Delegates, or the Resident Commissioner appointed by the Speaker, of whom not more than 5 shall be appointed in consultation with the minority leader.” After amendments to its composition, the House ultimately directed that Select Committee to be composed of “not more than 21 Members, Delegates, or the Resident Commissioner appointed by the Speaker, of whom not more than 9 shall be appointed in consultation with the minority leader.” 

On February 1, 2023, Speaker Kevin McCarthy appointed the following Members to the Select Subcommittee: Mr. Jordan, Chair (OH); Mr. Issa (CA); Mr. Massie (KY); Mr. Stewart (UT); Ms. Stefanik (NY); Mr. Johnson (LA); Mr. Gaetz (FL); Mr. Armstrong (ND); Mr. Steube (FL); Mr. Bishop (NC); Mrs. Cammack (FL); Ms. Hageman (WY); Ms. Plaskett (VI); Mr. Lynch (MA); Ms. Sánchez (CA); Ms. Wasserman Schultz (FL); Mr. Connolly (VA); Mr. Garamendi (CA); Mr. Allred (TX); Ms. Garcia (TX); and Mr. Goldman (NY). On October 25, 2023, Mr. Johnson resigned from the Select Subcommittee after being elected as Speaker of the House. On September 15, 2023, Mr. Stewart resigned from the House. On February 5, 2024, Speaker Johnson appointed Mr. Davidson (OH) and Mr. Fry (SC) to fill vacancies created by his resignation from the Select Subcommittee and Mr. Stewart’s resignation from the House. After Mr. Allred resigned from the Select Subcommittee, Ms. Crockett (TX) replaced him on April 30, 2024. 

The Select Subcommittee set out to examine executive branch misconduct and protect and strengthen the fundamental rights of American citizens. In furtherance of this goal, the Select Subcommittee sent nearly 450 letters to various government agencies, individuals, and private sector entities.The government agencies include: 

• The White House; 
• Justice Department; 
• Federal Bureau of Investigation; 
• Department of Homeland Security; 
• Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency; 
• Department of State; 
• Office of the Director of National Intelligence; 
• Central Intelligence Agency; 
• Department of the Treasury; 
• Financial Crimes Enforcement Network; 
• Securities and Exchange Commission; 
• Internal Revenue Service; 
• Federal Trade Commission; 
• Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; 
• Centers for Disease Control; 
• National Science Foundation; 
• Global Engagement Center; 
• Bureau of Prisons; 
• New York State Attorney General; and 
• Office of Attorney General for the District of Columbia. 

The private sector entities include Big Tech companies and universities engaged in the censorship-industrial complex, financial institutions that worked with federal law enforcement to surveil Americans, and more. These letters requested documents and testimony to inform the Select Subcommittee’s oversight. 

When agencies and entities were unresponsive, the Select Subcommittee issued subpoenas to compel compliance. In the 118th Congress, to obtain documents and testimony critical to the Select Subcommittee’s oversight, the full Committee issued 57 subpoenas. Pursuant to voluntary requests and compulsory process, the Select Subcommittee received and reviewed over 4 million pages of documents and conducted 99 transcribed interviews and depositions. 

Through this work, the Select Subcommittee revealed the extent of the censorship-industrial complex, showing how the Biden-Harris White House “engaged in a covert scheme of censorship” that was “blatantly unconstitutional” and suppressed Americans’ speech. The Select Subcommittee’s work led universities and other entities to shut down so-called “disinformation research.” The Select Subcommittee documented actions by foreign governments, including Brazil, the European Union, and Australia to pressure American companies to censor U.S. citizens and residents. 

The Select Subcommittee also revealed how the Biden-Harris Administration weaponized federal law enforcement against those it viewed as its political opponents, including conservative Americans broadly and President Trump, as well as other groups such as Catholic Americans, parents, and whistleblowers. While the Biden-Harris Administration frequently utilized the FBI to harass and intimidate its perceived enemies, a range of other federal agencies, such as the IRS and FinCEN, as well as private entities acting on the government’s behalf, worked against the American people. The Select Subcommittee further uncovered the extent to which the FBI, Biden campaign, and former members of the intelligence community worked to falsely discredit allegations about the Biden family’s influence peddling scheme and potentially alter the result of the 2020 presidential election. 

The Select Subcommittee’s work culminated in the publication of 23 reports and briefs detailing the findings of these extensive investigations. During the 118th Congress, the Select Subcommittee held 13 hearings in connection with these investigations, highlighting the abuses of the federal government and identifying legislative remedies.