Congressional Oversight
443 Articles

Avoiding the Next Yemen: Applying Hard Lessons for Security Partnerships
The humanitarian crisis in Yemen, wrought by a conflict entering its fourth year, has called into question the nature and purpose of American security partnership with Saudi Arabia.…

What the Constitution Says About Trump’s Obstruction of Pelosi’s Afghanistan Trip
President Donald Trump’s retaliation against Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s withdrawing the State of the Union invitation — denying Pelosi’s use of military aircraft to travel…

New House Rules Promote Aggressive Congressional Oversight
The new Democratic majority has taken formal control of the House and has fortified congressional oversight power in its new rules package. At the same time, a lot of additional…

Mueller’s Investigation May Be Coming to an End, But Congress Is Just Getting Started
On January 3, 2019, a new Congress will head to work with a monumental — but not unprecedented — job to tackle. Close observers of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation…

Explainer: The Comey Subpoena Fight–A Face-Saving Surrender and Testimony Deal
Former FBI Director James Comey appears to have capitulated in his legal effort to fight a congressional subpoena to give a closed deposition, but he also walked away with some…

U.S. House Investigations v. White House Slow-Walk: Scenarios
Democrats in the U.S. House are preparing to wield their new majority power in January. While they lack the control of both chambers necessary to push through legislation, they…

Can Congress Subpoena Trump to Testify?
Now that the Democrats have won control of the House of Representatives, there will be a flood of congressional investigations of waste, fraud, and abuse within the Trump administration,…

Russia Investigation Leads Back in Play under Democrats
Following the Democratic takeover of the House in January, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) is expected to chair the House intelligence committee. His leadership will come after a spectacle…

(Not So) Fast and Furious Settlement in Congressional Subpoena Case
Efforts to settle lengthy litigation over congressional subpoena power and executive privilege hit a snag this week. Judge Amy Berman Jackson declined to vacate her executive privilege…

Options for Congress to Respond to Saudi Transgressions: Here’s What Works according to Former Senior U.S. Officials
Former senior officials weigh in on options for Congress to respond to Khashoggi crisis, Yemen War, and US-Saudi policy more generally.

What Would National Security Oversight Look Like in a Democratic House?
If Democrats assume control of the House of Representatives after the midterms, there's likely to be a torrent of oversight activity. Andy Wright, a former staff director and counsel…

Annotation of Sec. Pompeo’s Certification of Yemen War: Civilian Casualties and Saudi-Led Coalition
Former special counsel to Pentagon critiques Pompeo's memo which claimed Saudis have taken sufficient steps to reduce civilian casualties.