Jim Jordan's Oversight Crusade Faces First Setback from Biden Admin

With less than a week left of the 117th Congress, the Biden White House's efforts to hinder a Republican-controlled House have already begun.

On Thursday, GOP Representative Jim Jordan, who is expected to chair the House Judiciary Committee, received a letter from White House Counsel Richard Sauber informing him that he'd have to restart his oversight demands and that the Biden administration had no plans to respond to the onslaught of recent requests.

"Congress has not delegated such [oversight] authority to individual members of Congress who are not committee chairmen, and the House has not done so under its current Rules," Sauber wrote, according to a letter obtained by Politico.

Republican Representative James Comer, who is expected to head the Oversight Committee, also received one of Sauber's letters.

Shortly after it became clear the GOP would take the majority after the midterms, both congressmen began demanding records from the Biden administration and vowed to investigate a number of issues related to the federal government—including the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan, the Department of Justice, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas' response to the situation at the border, and Biden's son, Hunter.

When reached for comment, Jordan's spokesperson Russell Dye referred Newsweek to the House Judiciary GOP's Twitter thread, which accused the White House of leaking Thursday's letters to Politico before Jordan received his copy.

"This was clearly a planned and coordinated effort between the White House and 'journalists' at Politico," the House Judiciary GOP wrote. "And it just shows how the media and White House will work hand-in-hand politically to obstruct legitimate constitutional oversight."

The Republicans said the latest oversight developments are "why it's so important for us to hit the ground running on January 3rd."

The White House's letter did not specify if GOP requests would be satisfied once the new Congress is sworn in, but the Biden administration's tone sent a clear warning signal to House Republicans that the next two years will likely be combative on both sides.

Sauber said should Republicans issue similar requests in the next Congress, the White House "will review and respond to them in good faith, consistent with the needs and obligations of both branches."

"We expect the new Congress will undertake its oversight responsibilities in the same spirit of good faith," the White House counsel wrote.

However, the House Judiciary GOP countered the Biden administration's promises of "good faith," contending that it was against good faith to send the letter to Jordan at 4:34 a.m.

"It shows how scared you are of important congressional oversight, particularly one where your administration targeted parents protesting at local school board meetings," the Republicans hit back at the White House.