Congressional Investigations Quarterly

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 of MoFo’s Congressional Investigations Quarterly explores the affordability narrative driving congressional investigations in an election year; ongoing congressional scrutiny of artificial intelligence (AI), data privacy, and online safety; expanding Republican investigations into nonprofits, higher education, and government fraud; Democratic investigative plans should they secure the House or Senate majority during the midterm elections; and other active areas receiving congressional attention.

In an Election Year, Affordability Takes Center Stage

As the midterm elections draw near, “kitchen table” issues, like affordability, will dominate the congressional investigations landscape for both parties. The investigative activity in Q1 2026 in both chambers reflects this focus.

• Algorithmic pricing. The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform recently opened an investigation into the use of AI in algorithmic pricing—the practice of using customer data to set individualized prices—by online transportation, travel, and delivery platforms. Late last year, a bipartisan group of Senators also urged the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to reopen an investigation into algorithmic pricing and highlighted the practice’s use by airlines.
• Healthcare costs. CEOs from major healthcare insurance companies testified in back-to-back hearings before a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee and the House Ways and Means Committee on health insurance affordability in January. Republicans focused on industry consolidation and vertical integration (with pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), for example) as drivers of increased costs, while Democrats pointed to the 2025 tax law changes and the expiration of the enhanced Affordable Care Act (ACA) premium tax credits. The House Oversight Committee continued its investigation into consolidation in the vision care market and the impact on consumer costs.
• Drug prices. Drug prices continued to play a central role in investigations this quarter. On the House side, the House Oversight Committee continued its multi-year probe of PBMs and their impact on prescription costs; the House Judiciary Committee issued a staff report examining the impact of PBM networks on independent pharmacies; and a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee hearing explored prescription drug supply chain and affordability issues. On the Senate side, the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee continued to investigate the 340B Drug Pricing Program, which provides discounted pricing to healthcare organizations serving uninsured and low-income patients, and the Senate Aging Committee continued its investigation into prescription drug availability and costs for seniors, seeking information from major pharmacies about their foreign supply chain practices. Meanwhile, the Democratic leadership on the Senate Finance Committee released a letter detailing their proposals to reduce prescription drug costs.
• College tuition. As noted in our earlier newsletter, congressional Republicans have been investigating allegations of collusion in college tuition pricing. More recently, “runaway college spending” was the topic of a House Education and Workforce subcommittee hearing this quarter, and Senate Democrats released a report which argued that the 2025 tax changes will make federal student loans more expensive and lead more students to private lenders.
• Consumer utility costs. As AI deployment drives demand for data centers, bipartisan congressional interest in the potential impact on consumer utility prices continues. Democratic senators have urged state utility commissioners to protect residential and small business ratepayers from rate hikes stemming from the rapid AI-fueled data center buildout and asked large technology and data center infrastructure companies for information about the environmental impact of planned data center projects. This follows earlier Democratic inquiries to major technology companies into whether data centers are driving up consumer electricity costs. In March, President Trump and leading AI and technology firms announced the Ratepayer Protection Pledge, designed to protect consumers from data center-related rate hikes. Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Josh Hawley (R-MO) asked the Energy Information Administration to establish mandatory annual reporting requirements for data centers and other large energy consumers, in part to hold companies accountable to the voluntary Ratepayer Protection Pledge.

Congressional Interest in AI, Data Privacy, and Online Safety Remains High, but Legislation Proves Elusive

• Artificial intelligence. As a general matter, AI-related issues have drawn scrutiny in both the House and Senate. Approximately 150 AI-related bills have been introduced since January 2025. In Q1 2026 alone, there have been around 10 AI-related hearings and more than 20 letters on AI’s use in and impact on the private sector including: national security risks of Chinese-based AI systems; data center infrastructure; AI-derived suggestive images on social media; AI chatbots and children; AI impact on the labor market; and AI in children’s toys. Democrats are also examining AI use by federal government contractors and purported financial stability risks of debt financing for AI infrastructure projects.
• Data privacy and online safety. Investigations focused on data privacy and online safety, especially children’s safety, continue to gain traction, as noted in our winter newsletter. On a bipartisan basis, lawmakers continue to scrutinize social media companies’ efforts to monitor and remove inappropriate content involving minors and implement protections for minors, demanding information from the companies themselves and calling for DOJ investigations. Republicans on the House Homeland Security Committee broadened online safety concerns into safety for law enforcement and demanded information from major technology companies about mobile applications that permit users to anonymously report and track federal law enforcement personnel. Although key legislative proposals involving AI, data privacy, and online safety have bipartisan support in both chambers, passage of these proposals remains uncertain.
• Cybersecurity. Major cybersecurity incidents regularly garner congressional interest. This quarter, the House Homeland Security Committee announced plans to seek information from major technology companies targeted by North Korea’s use of remote IT worker schemes to infiltrate U.S. companies, fund its weapons program, and undermine national security. The Senate HELP Committee is investigating a cybersecurity incident involving the exposure of Illinois residents’ sensitive health data information, and a cybersecurity incident involving a federal government contractor that resulted in the alleged destruction of government data.

Republicans Expand Existing Investigations of Nonprofits, Higher Education, and Government Fraud…

• Nonprofits. Nonprofit organizations remain under sustained Republican scrutiny, particularly relating to climate policy, use of charitable funds, and foreign influence. In January, the House Judiciary Committee launched an investigation into alleged efforts by nonprofits to influence judicial decision-making on climate policy. The House Judiciary Committee is also investigating nonprofit organizations that were the recipients of funds raised for charitable relief following the 2025 Southern California wildfires, as well as a nonprofit that receives federal funding and provides immigration-related legal services. Congressional investigations into foreign influence are increasingly targeting nonprofit networks. In February, the House Ways and Means Committee held a hearing examining the extent to which foreign funds may flow through tax-exempt organizations to support disruptive activity. Days later, 19 Republican state attorneys general urged DOJ to investigate over 150 environmental nonprofits over potential Foreign Agents Registration Act violations, and in early March, the House Oversight Committee requested information on DOJ’s efforts to monitor fraud and social unrest for signs of foreign interference.
• Higher education. Higher education remains an area of focus for House and Senate Republicans. House committees, including the House Education and Workforce Committee and the House Energy and Commerce Committee, continue to investigate allegations of antisemitism on college campuses. This quarter, the House Education and Workforce Committee also examined issues around student athlete gambling and the role of private equity investment in college athletics. The Senate HELP Committee similarly remains focused on antisemitism on college campuses.
• Fraud in government programs. Republicans are actively investigating pandemic-related fraud, as well as allegations of fraud in ACA subsidies and state Medicaid programs. Multiple House committees have launched investigations into the use of federal pandemic funds in Minnesota, with the House Oversight Committee issuing a staff report and holding a hearing this quarter with state officials, including the governor. The House Judiciary Committee issued subpoenas to eight health insurance companies this quarter, relating to alleged fraud associated with ACA subsidies. The House Energy and Commerce Committee expanded its Medicaid fraud investigation in March by demanding information and documents from 10 state governors, and the House Oversight Committee launched an investigation into California’s hospice program amid allegations of overbilling and rampant fraud.

…While Democrats Lay the Groundwork for Investigations If They Regain the House or Senate Majority

For their part, congressional Democrats are laying the foundation for a rapid escalation of oversight of both corporate conduct and administration activity, should they regain a majority in either chamber during the upcoming midterms. Minority members are increasingly coordinating across chambers, using joint letters, unofficial hearings, and public reports to lay the groundwork for investigations that could move quickly if the party regains the House or Senate in the midterms. For instance, Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Ranking Member on the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, and Representative Robert Garcia (D-CA), Ranking Member on the House Oversight Committee, earlier this year issued joint reports and hosted unofficial hearings regarding actions by DHS.

• Trump administration and private sector. Substantively, these inquiries predominantly focus on corporate entanglements with the executive branch, targeting alleged financial conflicts of interest and deregulatory windfalls. House Financial Services Democrats have probed the Securities and Exchange Commission’s rollback of crypto enforcement actions, including against firms that donated to the president’s campaign or that invested in Trump-affiliated projects, while House Oversight Democrats have investigated alleged interference by Trump administration officials in major infrastructure projects to protect the financial interests of campaign donors. House Homeland Security Democrats have targeted former DHS Secretary Kristi Noem over reports of conflicts of interest, contracting irregularities, and mismanagement. Committee Democrats demanded records, sought a DHS Inspector General investigation, and convened a March shadow hearing examining whether DHS contracting practices may favor entities with ties to the president and his allies. Democrats are also scrutinizing what they characterize as broader financial conflicts involving the Trump administration and affiliated entities, issuing a January staff report out of the House Oversight Committee and raising concerns about politicized regulatory decisions. For example, House Energy and Commerce Democrats recently accused the Federal Communications Commission of regulatory approvals that were the result of political favoritism.
• Government contractors and technology platforms. Contractors and technology platforms are also facing scrutiny for their roles in the Trump administration’s immigration and law enforcement operations. In February 2026, Democrats on the House Homeland Security and Oversight Committees wrote to Secretary Noem demanding information about DHS’s use of contractor-provided surveillance technologies to collect and analyze location data, device communications, and other personal information in connection with the agency’s immigration enforcement operations. House Judiciary and Homeland Security Democrats are also investigating alleged DOJ pressure on large tech companies to block mobile applications used to monitor ICE activity, as well as the role of social media companies in responding to DHS subpoenas seeking user data tied to First Amendment-protected speech.
• Healthcare and pharmaceuticals. Finally, the healthcare sector is also likely to remain a central focus, with Democratic scrutiny of drug pricing, public health policy, and agency transparency. House Energy and Commerce Democrats have launched a series of 2026 oversight inquiries into the Trump administration’s health policies, including a March 2026 letter seeking disclosure of “most-favored-nation” pharmaceutical agreements and additional inquiries into canceled public health grants, CDC vaccination guidance, and changes to federally funded research. Committee Democrats also issued a staff report in response to the February launch of TrumpRx—a government website aimed at helping Americans purchase discounted medications—and expressed skepticism that the program would lead to lower costs. Indicating a massive backlog of pent-up investigative demand, House Oversight Democrats noted in February that the Department of Health and Human Services failed to respond to more than 20 Democratic oversight letters.

Other Active Areas

• China. In January, Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) replaced Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) as Ranking Member of the House Select Committee on Strategic Competition Between the U.S. and the Chinese Communist Party. Since then, the committee has advanced several bipartisan investigations, including urging federal agencies to take action against a Chinese technology company identified as posing national security risks, seeking information from U.S. underwriters involved in Chinese initial public offerings tied to alleged “ramp-and-dump” schemes, and releasing a report examining China’s efforts to influence the United Nations.
• Epstein. The investigation into Jeffrey Epstein intensified after the release of additional materials by DOJ, with the House Oversight Committee conducting depositions of high-profile witnesses, including former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who were threatened with contempt of Congress before agreeing to testify. President Clinton became the first former president to be compelled to testify before a congressional committee and Democrats have promised to invoke this “new precedent” to pursue similar actions against President Trump in a future Congress.
• Environmental Regulation Nullification. On March 31, 2026, the House Committee on Energy and Commerce issued a subpoena to the California Air Resources Board for documents concerning its implementation of vehicle emissions regulations that were nullified by Congress. This is the first subpoena issued by Rep. Brett Guthrie (R-KY) in his capacity as chairman and further highlights congressional Republicans’ efforts to ensure that state entities and companies comply with new policy changes.

Looking into the second quarter, we continue to monitor areas of potential oversight, particularly as relates to Democratic oversight, including Iran-related developments, for possible inquiries into private-sector engagement in national security and energy matters.

For questions or additional information on these developments, please feel free to contact the Congressional Investigations team.