Accountability for Washington

For two years under one-party Democrat control of Congress and the White House, the American people were left completely in the dark about the numerous scandals and crises that have plagued President Joe Biden's administration. But since being elected by the American people to the majority, over the last seven months, House Republicans have launched numerous investigations to hold the administration accountable and get the American people the answers they deserve.

One of the biggest scandals in Washington has been evidence of Biden Family influence peddling. As chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, I've been on the front lines in the fight to expose Hunter Biden's shady business dealings. One of my very first acts as chairman was setting up a whistleblower hotline so that Internal Revenue Service (IRS) employees are able to share information with Congress regarding inappropriate behavior at the tax collection agency. Shortly after, IRS employees reached out to me to share their strong concerns with the federal government's handling of the Hunter Biden investigation, and we brought them in to let them tell their story on the record. Our committee released the transcript of the IRS' whistleblowers testimony despite opposition from every Democrat on the Ways and Means Committee. If Washington Democrats were still in the majority in the House, it's safe to assume the whistleblowers' bombshell testimony wouldn't have seen the light of day.

Another major scandal that escaped any serious oversight was the origin of the Trump-Russia collusion conspiracy theory. The Republican House majority uncovered incredibly alarming details about the hoax. In June, the House Judiciary Committee heard bombshell testimony from Special Counsel John Durham on his report examining its origins, also known as Crossfire Hurricane. According to Durham's testimony and report, it's clear that some bad apples at the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) improperly launched and carried on its Trump-Russia investigation. In his testimony, Durham told lawmakers, "There is not a single substantive piece of information and the [Steele dossier] that has ever been corroborated by the FBI or, to my knowledge, anyone else." There are many hardworking agents at the FBI, but their good work is being given a bad name because some of these rogue elements colluded with Washington Democrats to mislead millions of Americans into believing that President Donald Trump and Russia worked together to influence the 2016 presidential election. It makes my blood boil.

Perhaps one of the worst cover-ups was the efforts by scientists like Anthony Fauci and Francis Collins to actively suppress the origins of the COVID-19 virus. House Republicans on the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic uncovered that despite ample suspicion that a laboratory leak in China was the clear origin of the devastating pandemic, members of the scientific community used their credentials to publish academic papers that were intended to keep China from being blamed, even as it's now clear these same scientists themselves suspected a laboratory leak was COVID's possible origin. And what had Washington Democrats done to expose this unethical behavior? Absolutely nothing.

As part of our efforts to restore accountability in Washington, House Republicans created a new Judiciary subcommittee that is specifically tasked with investigating the weaponization of the federal government. There are numerous examples that give Americans plenty of reason to believe that the Left is using the federal government as a tool to benefit their allies, like the Department of Justice giving Hunter Biden a slap on the wrist for committing crimes that would send the average American to jail. In addition, we've seen the Left weaponize the federal government to go after those who don't share their beliefs -- like the FBI harassing members of the pro-life movement. It's absolutely unacceptable, and Republicans will never stop fighting to protect Americans from out-of-control federal agencies.

While we've uncovered numerous examples of bad government over the last seven months, our work to get Americans the answers they deserve is only getting started. We'll continue pressing this administration on the disastrous Afghanistan withdrawal, the origins of COVID, Hunter Biden's shady business dealings, and so much more. It's all part of House Republicans' commitment to deliver the American people a government that's accountable.

Jason Smith (R-MO) represents the eighth congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives.