Who Oversees the House Oversight Committee?

By James Carlson

View of Democrat Members of the House Oversight Committee (Dramatized)

How many layers of oversight are there? We could have hundreds of committees overseeing committees; this is ridiculous. The U.S. Constitution does not give the House Oversight Committee authority to review the Acts of the Administrative (Executive) Branch of the federal government. This is an overreach, and it needs to be reigned in.

First, the President of the United States was hired by the American people to serve as the Chief Administrator, the Chief Executive, and the Commander in Chief – not the U.S. House of Representatives. Further, Marbury v. Madison shows that each of the 3 branches of government has authority to define the meaning of the Constitution for their respective branch. The Supreme Court has the final word in cases brought before it, and the President has the final word in matters of Executive/Administrative actions. Judicial Review (not Judicial Supremacy) is not only a constitutional provision for the Courts but for the Administration and Congress.

Congress has a role in ensuring that the laws it passes (statutory law) are implemented according to law. To that end, Congress has historically reviewed the administration's work to ensure compliance. Often this encompasses political antics that reach beyond oversight but both Party’s have played that game. Now, the role of oversight has been so conflated that it is taken for granted that Congress is in charge of the President, the White House, and the administration. But that is not right; the People, the Constitution, and the rule of law are in charge.

Further, Congress authorizes the President’s Cabinet, but it is subject to the President of the United States. Article II, Section 2, Clause 1 of the U.S. Constitution states that the President:

…may require the Opinion, in writing, of the principal Officer in each of the executive Departments, upon any Subject relating to the Duties of their respective Offices.

Nowhere does it state that the Congress has this oversight. Of the many Cabinet posts established over the years by Congress, the following outlines them and their history.

Timeline of Current Executive Departments

Department	Year Created	Historical Notes & Predecessors
Department of State	1789	Created on July 27 as the Department of Foreign Affairs and renamed State in September.
Department of the Treasury	1789	Established on September 2 to manage federal finances and revenue.
Department of Defense	1947 / 1949	Traces roots to the Department of War (1789) and Department of the Navy (1798). Merged into the National Military Establishment in 1947 and renamed Defense in 1949.
Department of Justice	1870	The Office of the Attorney General was created in 1789, but the formal department was established in 1870.
Department of the Interior	1849	Established on March 3 to consolidate management of domestic land and resources.
Department of Agriculture	1862 / 1889	Founded as an independent agency in 1862 and elevated to a Cabinet-level department in 1889.
Department of Commerce	1903 / 1913	Originally created as the Department of Commerce and Labor in 1903, then split into two separate departments in 1913.
Department of Labor	1913	Separated from the joint Department of Commerce and Labor.
Department of Health and Human Services	1953 / 1979	Originally created as the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (HEW) in 1953, then renamed in 1979 when Education became its own department.
Department of Housing and Urban Development	1965	Established during President Lyndon B. Johnson's Great Society initiatives.
Department of Transportation	1966 / 1967	Authorized by Congress in October 1966 and began operations in April 1967.
Department of Energy	1977	Formed in response to the 1970s energy crisis by consolidating federal energy agencies.
Department of Education	1979	Created by splitting education functions out of the former Department of Health, Education, and Welfare.
Department of Veterans Affairs	1988 / 1989	Elevated from the Veterans Administration (created in 1930) via legislation in 1988, taking effect in March 1989.
Department of Homeland Security	2002	Created in November 2002 following the September 11 attacks, merging 22 federal agencies.

The administration of these departments falls to the President, not to Congress. As the role of the House Oversight Committee has changed over the years, here is another outline of the committee's history.

Key Milestones in Committee History

• 1927 (70th Congress): Established as the Committee on Expenditures in the Executive Departments, consolidating 11 separate expenditure committees spread across federal agencies to track how taxpayer money was spent. [1, 2]

• 1952 (83rd Congress): Renamed the Committee on Government Operations to focus broadly on the economy and efficiency of government activities. [1, 2]

• 1975: Under Chairman Jack Brooks, the committee transitioned from a quiet administrative panel into an aggressive, high-profile investigative body. [1]

• 1995 (104th Congress): Reorganized under Republican control as the Committee on Government Reform and Oversight (later shortened to the Committee on Government Reform in 1999). [1, 2, 3]

• 2007 (110th Congress): Renamed the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. [1, 2]

• 2019 (116th Congress): Renamed the Committee on Oversight and Reform after Democrats regained House control. [1, 2]

• 2023 (118th Congress): Renamed the Committee on Oversight and Accountability by House Republicans. [1, 2]

• 2025 (119th Congress): Resumed the name Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. [1]

The House Oversight Committee is not authorized by the Constitution but provides oversight to ensure the law is obeyed properly. This is a valid resource for accountability, but the President is not subject to Congress, nor does the Office of the President have to comply with the political games this committee has historically played.

The 51^st of the Federalist Papers outlines the accountability of those who serve in the federal government. In James Madison’s own words:

Ambition must be made to counteract ambition. The interest of the man must be connected with the constitutional rights of the place. It may be a reflection on human nature, that such devices should be necessary to control the abuses of government. But what is government itself, but the greatest of all reflections on human nature? If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary. In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: you must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself.

The Constitution and the rule of law are the external controls for the government. This oversight belongs to the People and the Press, not the House Oversight Committee. Next, Morals and Ethics provide the internal controls that every elected member of the federal government must observe as a witness to how a self-governing society should behave. Culture, tradition, and history all play a role in the work of a self-governing society. And everyone in government (elected or not) should swear to uphold these principles:

·       U.S. Constitution

·       Rule of Law

·       Morality

·       Ethics

Through oversight by the People and the Press, we hold the government accountable for its actions. In the next few years, we will see a lack of restraint by the House Oversight Committee for political advantage. And the People are tired of the games played by both the Press and Congress. Again, in the end, who oversees the Oversight Committee?

We The People!!!