The new Republican majority in the House of Representatives voted Tuesday night to create two new investigative committees: a select committee focused on competition with China, which received bipartisan support, and the Weaponization of the Federal Government Subcommittee, which only received support from Republicans.

What You Need To Know

  • Rep. Thomas Massie says he will serve on the new Weaponization of the Federal Government Subcommittee

  • The House voted along party lines to form the panel, with all Republicans in favor and all Democrats opposed

  • Democrats objected to the formation of the panel, with some saying it could be used to attack ongoing investigations, like the Justice Department's probe into the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol

Oversight of the Biden administration has been a major focus of the new Republican-led House, and their recently created subcommittee aims to do just that.

Though no official announcements have been made yet about who will fill the panel – which will fall under the Judiciary Committee led by Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan – Kentucky's Rep. Thomas Massie said he will be one of the committee members.

“There will be members who will be brought in from other committees, like the Intel Committee and the Energy and Commerce Committee, which has jurisdiction over the social media companies,” Massie added.

Massie gave an example of the types of things the panel will likely investigate.

“For instance, we know that based on Elon [Musk] buying Twitter, and some of the evidence that’s come out of that, the FBI coordinated with Twitter to monitor accounts and then to suggest that they be silenced," Massie said, calling it "a violation of civil liberties.” 

Republicans charge that government agencies are being used to target conservatives, a claim which the Biden administration has repeatedly denied. This new panel will have the power to investigate the federal government, likely including ongoing investigations. Republicans have mentioned the U.S. Department of Justice as a potential area of focus.

“It will allow us to investigate whether the FBI or any other three letter agency in this government has been violating the constitutional civil rights of Americans,” Massie said.

Another member of the Kentucky Congressional delegation, Rep. James Comer, is leading investigations on the high-profile Oversight and Reform Committee this term. Comer expressed his support for the creation of this panel and said he will “work closely with this new select committee.”

Democrats objected to the formation of the panel, with some saying it could be used to attack ongoing investigations, like the Justice Department's probe into the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol.

"Jim Jordan and Kevin McCarthy claim to be investigating the weaponization of the federal government when, in fact, this new select committee is the weapon itself," Rep. Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., said in a statement. "It is specifically designed to inject extremist politics into our justice system and shield the MAGA movement from the legal consequences of their actions."

Despite the fact that no Democrats voted in favor of creating the new panel, members of the party will serve on it.

“It is our intent to seat members on every select committee, every subcommittee that leadership on the majority side advances,” Rep. Pete Aguilar of California told reporters.