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United States House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform
The Committee on Oversight and Government Reform is the main investigative committee of the United States House of Representatives. The committee's broad jurisdiction and legislative authority make it one of the most influential and powerful panels in the House. Its chair is one of only three in the House with the authority to issue subpoenas without a committee vote or consultation with the ranking member. However, in recent history, it has become practice to refrain from unilateral subpoenas.
Carolyn Maloney (D-New York) served as acting chair of the committee following the death of Elijah Cummings (D-Maryland) on October 17, 2019; she was elected chair a month later. Representative Jim Jordan served as ranking member from January 3, 2019, until March 12, 2020. On March 31, 2020, Jordan switched to become the ranking member of the Judiciary Committee instead. Representative Mark Meadows served as ranking member from March 13, 2020, until March 30, 2020, when he resigned his congressional seat to become White House Chief of Staff. Representative James Comer (R-Kentucky) was selected to succeed Meadows on June 29, 2020. Comer became Chair when Republicans regained control of the House majority, with Representative Jamie Raskin (D-Maryland) being elected as Ranking Member. Politico reported in late January that Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-New York) would be appointed as the Vice Ranking Member.
For the 119th Congress, Comer was reelected to serve as Chair. Raskin sought, and won, the top position on the House Judiciary Committee. Representative Gerry Connolly, who previously served as the Chair of the Oversight's Subcommittee on Government Operations during the 116th and 117th Congresses, and Ocasio-Cortez sought the Ranking Member position. The House Democratic Steering and Policy Committee voted 34 to 27 to appoint Connolly, with the full caucus vote being 131–84. On April 28, 2025, Gerry Connolly announced that he would not seek re-election at the end of his term and that he was stepping back from his Ranking Member position. Stephen Lynch was named Acting Ranking Member pending Connolly's formal resignation from the role and the selection of a successor by the House Democratic Caucus. Connolly died on May 21, 2025.
The panel now known as the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform was originally the Committee on Expenditures in the Executive Departments, created in 1927 to consolidate 11 separate Committees on Expenditures that had previously overseen the spending of various departments of the federal government.
The Committee on Expenditures became the Committee on Government Operations in 1952. The new name was intended to reflect the committee's broad mission: to oversee "the operations of Government activities at all levels with a view to determining their economy and efficiency".
After Republicans gained control of the House in the 1994 elections, the committee was reorganized to include seven subcommittees instead of 14. This reorganization consolidated the jurisdiction previously covered by three full committees and resulted in a 50 percent cut in staff. In 2007, a reorganization under a new Democratic majority combined the duties of the seven subcommittees into five.
In the 106th Congress, the panel was renamed the Committee on Government Reform. While retaining the agenda of the former Committee on Government Operations, the new committee also took on the responsibilities of the former House Committee on the Post Office and Civil Service and the Committee on the District of Columbia. On January 4, 2007, the 110th Congress renamed it the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. The name was changed again by the 116th Congress to the Committee on Oversight and Reform. For the 118th Congress, Republicans changed the name to Committee on Oversight and Accountability. The 119th Congress changed the name back to Committee on Oversight and Government Reform when Republicans won a Government trifecta during the 2024 United States elections. Since 2007, it has simply been called the "Oversight Committee" for short.
In 1997, the Republican majority on the committee changed its rules to allow the chair, Dan Burton (R-Indiana), to issue subpoenas without the consent of the committee's ranking Democrat. From 1997 to 2002, Burton used this authority to issue 1,052 unilateral subpoenas, many of them related to alleged misconduct by President Bill Clinton, at a cost of more than $35 million.
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United States House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform
The Committee on Oversight and Government Reform is the main investigative committee of the United States House of Representatives. The committee's broad jurisdiction and legislative authority make it one of the most influential and powerful panels in the House. Its chair is one of only three in the House with the authority to issue subpoenas without a committee vote or consultation with the ranking member. However, in recent history, it has become practice to refrain from unilateral subpoenas.
Carolyn Maloney (D-New York) served as acting chair of the committee following the death of Elijah Cummings (D-Maryland) on October 17, 2019; she was elected chair a month later. Representative Jim Jordan served as ranking member from January 3, 2019, until March 12, 2020. On March 31, 2020, Jordan switched to become the ranking member of the Judiciary Committee instead. Representative Mark Meadows served as ranking member from March 13, 2020, until March 30, 2020, when he resigned his congressional seat to become White House Chief of Staff. Representative James Comer (R-Kentucky) was selected to succeed Meadows on June 29, 2020. Comer became Chair when Republicans regained control of the House majority, with Representative Jamie Raskin (D-Maryland) being elected as Ranking Member. Politico reported in late January that Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-New York) would be appointed as the Vice Ranking Member.
For the 119th Congress, Comer was reelected to serve as Chair. Raskin sought, and won, the top position on the House Judiciary Committee. Representative Gerry Connolly, who previously served as the Chair of the Oversight's Subcommittee on Government Operations during the 116th and 117th Congresses, and Ocasio-Cortez sought the Ranking Member position. The House Democratic Steering and Policy Committee voted 34 to 27 to appoint Connolly, with the full caucus vote being 131–84. On April 28, 2025, Gerry Connolly announced that he would not seek re-election at the end of his term and that he was stepping back from his Ranking Member position. Stephen Lynch was named Acting Ranking Member pending Connolly's formal resignation from the role and the selection of a successor by the House Democratic Caucus. Connolly died on May 21, 2025.
The panel now known as the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform was originally the Committee on Expenditures in the Executive Departments, created in 1927 to consolidate 11 separate Committees on Expenditures that had previously overseen the spending of various departments of the federal government.
The Committee on Expenditures became the Committee on Government Operations in 1952. The new name was intended to reflect the committee's broad mission: to oversee "the operations of Government activities at all levels with a view to determining their economy and efficiency".
After Republicans gained control of the House in the 1994 elections, the committee was reorganized to include seven subcommittees instead of 14. This reorganization consolidated the jurisdiction previously covered by three full committees and resulted in a 50 percent cut in staff. In 2007, a reorganization under a new Democratic majority combined the duties of the seven subcommittees into five.
In the 106th Congress, the panel was renamed the Committee on Government Reform. While retaining the agenda of the former Committee on Government Operations, the new committee also took on the responsibilities of the former House Committee on the Post Office and Civil Service and the Committee on the District of Columbia. On January 4, 2007, the 110th Congress renamed it the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. The name was changed again by the 116th Congress to the Committee on Oversight and Reform. For the 118th Congress, Republicans changed the name to Committee on Oversight and Accountability. The 119th Congress changed the name back to Committee on Oversight and Government Reform when Republicans won a Government trifecta during the 2024 United States elections. Since 2007, it has simply been called the "Oversight Committee" for short.
In 1997, the Republican majority on the committee changed its rules to allow the chair, Dan Burton (R-Indiana), to issue subpoenas without the consent of the committee's ranking Democrat. From 1997 to 2002, Burton used this authority to issue 1,052 unilateral subpoenas, many of them related to alleged misconduct by President Bill Clinton, at a cost of more than $35 million.