How the House Republican New Rules Package Will Impact Companies

The new House Republican majority recently enacted a new rules package that will govern the chamber for the 118th Congress.

Amid press coverage, less attention has been paid to the package’s impact on how companies and individuals will interact with the House for the next two years. Here’s what they can expect.

Hearings and Depositions

Most witnesses who were accustomed to testifying remotely will have to return to Capitol Hill. The rules no longer permit witnesses appearing before House committees to participate remotely at their discretion, unless those appearances have been specifically authorized by the committee chair.

Even with that permission, only private, nongovernmental witnesses might be able to testify remotely—government officials must appear in person every time. Corporate executives who have spent three years Zooming into Congress from the comfort of their conference rooms or homes should prepare for the higher-stress environment that comes with appearing live in a Capitol hearing room.

The rules also limit who can attend House committee depositions. Any witness testifying in a deposition may now be accompanied by no more than two personal, nongovernmental attorneys. Additionally, counsel for federal agencies are barred entirely from attending any House depositions, although the executive branch has deemed previous House attempts to bar agency counsel from the deposition room to be unconstitutional.

Neither rule applies in the more commonly used informal, voluntary, interview setting, so witnesses should be able to bring in counsel and staff of their choosing.

New Committees and Directions

The majority intends to set a new direction for the existing Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis, launching new probes that will touch on issues that matter to businesses and individuals across America.

The rules preview future expansive investigations into a variety of Covid-related topics, including origins of the virus, the National Institutes of Health’s gain-of-function research, development of vaccines and implementation of vaccine mandates, the economic impact of governmental restrictions on businesses and individuals, the impact of school closures on children, and the executive branch’s decisions and communications concerning the pandemic.

The subcommittee will also continue its existing work overseeing the government’s pandemic-era economic support programs, and the full Oversight Committee’s first hearing will focus on fraud in Covid relief spending. Many businesses—whether they are in the health-care sector or simply received Covid relief funds—should prepare for increased scrutiny from the subcommittee.

Second, the majority plans to establish under the Judiciary Committee a new Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government. It has been tasked with investigating how the executive branch collects information about and investigates US citizens, including through cooperation with the private sector. Likely chaired by full Committee Chairman Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH), the subcommittee’s mission may lead it to examine corporations that regularly interact with the federal government.

Third, the majority plans to establish a new Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party, likely to be chaired by Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-WI). Gallagher has explained that the committee will focus on restoring supply chains and ending critical economic dependencies on China, strengthening the military, and ending CCP theft of US personal data and intellectual property.

While the committee has no legislative jurisdiction, its official role is to “investigate and submit policy recommendations on the status of the Chinese Communist Party’s economic, technological, and security progress and its competition with the United States.” US businesses with substantial trans-Pacific connections should prepare for some searching questions from this new panel.

Centralizing Control of Seven-Member Rule

The rules attempt to impose new restrictions on rank-and-file members’ ability to invoke 5 U.S.C. § 2954, called the “Seven Member Rule,” which permits a minority of House Oversight Committee members to demand the production of records within the committee’s jurisdiction from any federal agency. The new rule requires any Section 2954 request to include the Oversight Committee chair as one of the requestors.

It is not clear that this new rule comports with Section 2954’s text, which allows “any” seven members to make a request. Biden administration officials receiving requests from seven or more Democratic members of the Oversight Committee could simply release information to them. But, if heeded, the rule would allow the Chair to effectively veto rank-and-file attempts to seek executive branch records, including records from or relating to the Trump administration.

Probing the January 6th Probe

The rules also transfer all records of the January 6th Committee to the Committee on House Administration. That committee may dive into those records for their own investigation. This is not unexpected, given Republican promises to examine the work of the January 6th Committee. Any individuals or corporations that appear in that committee’s files should prepare to have those files closely reexamined.

These changes show that House Republicans are thinking carefully about how to use their new oversight powers expansively and effectively over the government and US businesses alike. Any business or individual that has had contact with an area of interest to the new majority should prepare to hear from them—and plan accordingly.

This article does not necessarily reflect the opinion of Bloomberg Industry Group, Inc., the publisher of Bloomberg Law and Bloomberg Tax, or its owners.

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Marcus A.R. Childress, special counsel, Jenner & Block, guides clients through parallel inquiries, including congressional investigations, government enforcement actions, civil litigation, and workplace crises. Marcus was investigative counsel to the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6 Attack on the US Capitol.

Emily M. Loeb is chair of Jenner & Block’s Congressional Investigations Practice and co-chair of the Government Controversies and Public Policy Litigation Practice. Emily is a former associate deputy attorney general at the Department of Justice and a former associate White House counsel.

Sam Ungar, associate, Jenner & Block, weaves legal advice, policy counsel, and strategic guidance to provide a unique perspective in assisting his clients.