MoFo’s Congressional Investigations Quarterly Client Alert is designed for busy in-house counsel, government affairs professionals, policy advocates, and legal practitioners seeking to navigate the ins and outs of congressional investigations.
This edition covers July through September 2026, including recent Democratic inquiries that preview likely investigative targets should the party regain control of either chamber in the upcoming midterms. Should they win, Democrats have been clear they will investigate private-sector dealings with the Trump administration. (This would not be a new congressional tool. House Republicans frequently sought private-sector communications with the Biden administration.)
Against the backdrop of anticipated private sector scrutiny, the Office of Legal Counsel at the Department of Justice (DOJ) issued a memo this quarter stating that certain presidential communications with private parties could be shielded from congressional discovery. The extent to which the White House will attempt to prevent private parties from cooperating with congressional demands remains an issue to watch.
Democratic activity in Q3 coalesced around four themes that could drive investigations in 2027.
Corporate donations and access. House Natural Resources Committee Democrats issued a report this quarter examining the financing and operation of the entity established to support the nation’s 250th anniversary celebrations. House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Jared Huffman (D-CA) and Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee Ranking Member Maxine Dexter (D-OR) sought documents and communications from corporate sponsors and partners concerning solicitation, official access, and donors’ business before the government.
Democratic senators requested a Government Accountability Office (GAO) audit of the White House ballroom in August, while Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), and Representative Melanie Stansbury (D-NM) ramped up their investigation into the Donald J. Trump Presidential Library Foundation in July. Both probe whether donations and solicitations were associated with government contracts, regulatory relief, and other benefits.
In September, House Intelligence Committee Ranking Member Jim Himes (D-CT) wrote to the National Defense Industrial Association, warning of likely future investigative steps involving contractors’ relationships with the administration. He identified possible demands for documents, communications, and transcribed testimony about ballroom contributions, their solicitation, and any relationship to contracts or access. Contractors should prepare for scrutiny from committees exercising national-security jurisdiction.
Federal loans and politically connected recipients. In July, House Science, Space, and Technology Committee Ranking Member Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), Senator Warren, Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden (D-OR), and Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) opened an inquiry into the Commerce Department’s financial support for a critical-minerals company, as well as the company’s financial adviser. In August, House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Huffman and House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Ranking Member Robert Garcia (D-CA) requested records concerning a large federal loan to another minerals company with reported ties to the president’s family. These investigations focus on who influenced selection, how government support was structured, and whether private relationships affected public decisions. House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Jamie Raskin (D-MD) sought information from an investment firm associated with the president’s family in August, and separately examined a proposed paid service offering early access to presidential social media posts.
Private capital, insurance, and retirement savings. Senate Banking Committee Ranking Member Warren questioned state insurance regulators in September about private investment firms’ growing role in insurance, including related-party transactions and risks to policyholders. She and Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee Ranking Member Bernie Sanders (I-VT) pressed the Department of Labor in September about reports of fabricated comments on a proposed rule opening retirement plans to private assets.
Healthcare costs and intermediaries. In September, House Energy and Commerce Committee Ranking Member Frank Pallone (D-NJ) sought information from arbitration firms involved in resolving payment disputes under the No Surprises Act, examining compliance, decision-making practices, and potential financial conflicts. Also in September, Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Wyden renewed his demand for the administration’s drug-pricing agreements with pharmaceutical companies, seeking to understand their terms and related benefits. A Democratic majority could seek those agreements and supporting communications directly from manufacturers.
Prices and mergers. Senator Warren sent a letter to major consumer-facing companies in August asking whether tariff refunds would be passed through to customers. Merger and competition scrutiny also continued: Senator Warren and Representative Becca Balint (D-VT) sought review of a proposed media transaction, while House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Raskin and Representative Jerry Nadler (D-NY) challenged an antitrust settlement.
Companies that have supplied products and support for Trump administration immigration, law enforcement, and national security priorities will be a significant focus of Democratic inquiries.
In July, retiring Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Ranking Member Gary Peters (D-MI) sent a letter to Immigration and Customs Enforcement concerning the purchase and use of commercial spyware. Senator Wyden and House Oversight Subcommittee on Federal Law Enforcement Ranking Member Greg Casar (D-TX) requested a GAO investigation into federal law enforcement’s use of hacking and spyware.
House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Raskin pressed a technology company in September to restore consumer access to mobile immigration enforcement-monitoring applications. In August, he sought a transcribed interview with a media-company CEO in an inquiry into alleged political interference in news coverage. Senator Blumenthal and Representative Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) also requested records from a university concerning a proposed settlement with the Trump administration. These actions signal potential investigations into how federal funding, regulatory authority, or enforcement influences private decisions about speech, programming, admissions, and employment.
Military artificial intelligence (AI). In July, Senator Warren sought AI contracts and related information from the Department of War and technology companies, questioning protections against domestic surveillance and autonomous lethal operations. In September, Senate Armed Services Committee Ranking Member Jack Reed (D-RI), Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Vice Chairman Mark Warner (D-VA), and Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense Ranking Member Chris Coons (D-DE) called for investigations into reported errors in AI-assisted intelligence and military operations and access for relevant inspectors general.
Senate Banking Committee Ranking Member Warren pressed Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick in August about expanded access to sensitive U.S. technology for the United Arab Emirates following investments in a Trump-family cryptocurrency venture.
Digital assets and illicit finance. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations Ranking Member Blumenthal issued a report examining the use of a major dollar-pegged stablecoin in Iran’s shadow banking network. He referred the findings to the Department of the Treasury and DOJ and requested investigations into potential sanctions violations. The report also questioned whether relationships with administration officials affected enforcement.
Republicans and Democrats pursued similar targets in Q3. AI, surveillance, online safety, consumer pricing, prediction markets, and People’s Republic of China (PRC)-related risks remained important areas of bipartisan concern, though shared interest did not always produce joint investigations or agreed upon solutions.
Data centers. Data centers remained a key theme this quarter. Representative Gary Palmer (R-AL), Chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Environment, led a hearing examining data center water infrastructure costs. Senate Republicans also pressed the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on the potential for increased electricity demand from data centers. House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Huffman and colleagues questioned plans to open federal lands to data center development, and Senator Wyden introduced legislation to ban data centers on public land. House Energy and Commerce Committee Ranking Member Pallone pressed a data center developer on the environmental impact of its projects and demanded the developer’s communications with state and local officials as well as the White House. House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Raskin opened an investigation into data center developers’ use of nondisclosure agreements with state and local officials, including projected resource consumption and restrictions on public disclosure.
AI. In September, Senator Warren and colleagues asked major technology companies to disclose tax benefits supporting AI investment and related lobbying. Senator Blumenthal requested records following reports that AI agents breached a third-party platform and concealed their activities. Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO), Chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee’s Subcommittee on Disaster Management, opened a parallel inquiry.
Surveillance technology and privacy. Senator Hawley, as Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Counterterrorism, opened an investigation into a company that operates a network of AI-powered cameras used by law enforcement, seeking information about data collection, retention, sharing, and safeguards. Senators Wyden and Adam Schiff (D-CA) also sent a letter to the company about reported law-enforcement abuse.
Online child safety. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA) continued examining allegations that a social media company disregarded child-safety risks and retaliated against whistleblowers. Chairman Hawley and Senate Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Richard (Dick) Durbin (D-IL) sought records and preservation of evidence from an online gaming platform in August concerning child safety. Joint Economic Committee Ranking Member Maggie Hassan (D-NH) pressed an AI platform in July about nonconsensual sexual deepfakes.
Prediction markets. Bipartisan interest in prediction markets continued to gain momentum this quarter. House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY) expanded his investigation into prediction market companies by seeking information from additional online platforms. A House Agriculture subcommittee held a July hearing on customer protections and market integrity in sports-event prediction markets. Senators Warner and Alex Padilla (D-CA) wrote to platforms in August about payments to influencers spreading election disinformation.
Algorithmic and surveillance pricing. Senator Hawley chaired a Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Counterterrorism hearing that examined the use of personal information and AI to set consumer prices. House Energy and Commerce Committee Ranking Member Pallone continued his inquiry into pricing practices and pressed major airlines for detailed information about how they set ticket fares, including the use of AI and personal data of customers. House Oversight Committee Chairman Comer sought a briefing from the Federal Trade Commission on its enforcement policy relating to surveillance pricing in connection with the committee’s ongoing investigation.
House Select China Committee. The House Select China Committee continued to be active in a variety of areas. The committee’s bipartisan report, Stranger Pings, concluded that PRC state-owned telecommunications carriers remained embedded in U.S. internet infrastructure despite earlier regulatory restrictions, and recommended expanded oversight and authority to restrict or remove infrastructure posing national-security risks.
Chairman John Moolenaar (R-MI) and House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Andrew Garbarino (R-NY) expanded their Q2 2026 investigation into U.S. companies integrating open-weight PRC AI models into consumer platforms and sought internal records and analyses from an additional company.
Ranking Member Ro Khanna (D-CA) wrote separately to PRC AI model developers regarding safeguards against catastrophic AI risks. He also requested intelligence assessments of U.S. preparedness for scenarios involving loss of human control over advanced AI and the PRC’s approach to those risks, while urging stronger capabilities to monitor PRC AI laboratories. Ranking Member Khanna also opened an investigation into an auto glassmaker, requesting information and documents concerning its U.S. operations amid allegations of worker exploitation, noncompliance with U.S. law, and unfair competition with American manufacturers.
Republican-led committees issued several investigative reports this quarter, including on American universities’ partnerships with PRC universities, discriminatory treatment of American companies in foreign countries, and alleged failures by a political fundraising platform to prevent unlawful foreign political contributions.
Republicans also continued to open new inquiries and expand existing ones. Representative Brandon Gill (R-TX), Chairman of the House Oversight Committee’s Task Force on Defending Constitutional Rights and Exposing Institutional Abuses, launched an investigation into a management consulting firm’s reports supporting corporate diversity initiatives. Chairman Gill demanded records and supporting data going back over a decade. Senator Hawley continued his investigation into alleged U.S. Postal Service (USPS) failures and broadened the focus to the use of management consultants by USPS. He demanded detailed information about the use of consultants over the past 10 years.
This quarter, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith (R-MO) issued multiple subpoenas as he continued to press nonprofits with alleged foreign adversary ties to comply with the committee’s wide-ranging document demands. The subpoenas were not made public, but earlier demands sought several years’ worth of records on the nonprofits’ fiscal sponsorship of other organizations, foreign donors, and grants made outside the U.S. Republican concerns about nonprofits’ role in U.S. energy policy also escalated this quarter. Chairman Comer, joined by House Oversight Subcommittee on Economic Growth, Energy Policy, and Regulatory Affairs Chairman Eric Burlison (R-MO), announced an investigation into a philanthropic foundation’s support for environmental campaigns.
Congressional investigative priorities in 2027 will ultimately be shaped by the upcoming midterm results. We will continue to monitor areas of potential oversight, particularly if Democrats win control of either chamber of Congress.
For questions or additional information on these developments, please feel free to contact the Congressional Investigations team.