House Republicans on Tuesday demanded that each member of President Biden’s Cabinet preserve all relevant documents and communications, a move that signals future investigations into the Biden administration.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, Louisiana Republican, announced that House GOP leaders and the chairs of each House committee sent letters to every Cabinet secretary demanding that they preserve the materials ahead of President-elect Donald Trump’s transition into office.
The lawmakers wrote that they expected each secretary’s “cooperation in a smooth transition of power,” particularly in adhering to federal records retention laws, including the Federal Records Act.
“In addition to compliance with federal record retention laws, we are also expressly directing that all necessary steps be taken to preserve relevant Department documents and communications,” they wrote.
The move follows similar demands from House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan of Ohio and House Administration Subcommittee on Oversight Chairman Barry Loudermilk of Georgia for special counsel Jack Smith to preserve all records surrounding the Biden-Harris administration’s prosecutions of Mr. Trump.
The lawmakers highlighted several GOP-led investigations into the Biden administration during the last two years that Republicans have controlled the House, including the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan, alleged collusion with social media companies to suppress free speech, investigations into the weaponization of federal agencies against Mr. Biden’s political opponents, and antisemitism on college campuses “enabled by leading Democrats.”
“In the waning days of this Congress, House Committees will continue to seek compliance with many of the subpoenas with which you largely declined to cooperate,” the lawmakers wrote. “Likewise, as the 119th Congress begins, the Committees may determine that it is necessary to reissue certain subpoenas as they continue with their oversight efforts.”
• Alex Miller can be reached at amiller@washingtontimes.com.