Members of both parties have been hijacking House Oversight Committee operations for months to call votes on subpoenas of high-profile figures in the Jeffrey Epstein investigation — and Democrats say Chairman James Comer has quietly devised a new strategy to stop the practice.
He charges that the Kentucky Republican’s solution is to hold “roundtables” on various issues within the panel’s jurisdiction rather than holding hearings. Roundtables are more informal and do not allow members to offer to subpoena witnesses during unrelated committee business, as is allowed during hearings.
In the past year, some GOP members have joined with Democrats to take advantage of the panel’s subpoena rules. In July, when top congressional Republicans were dragging their feet, he voted on a surprise resolution to release the full Epstein files. Lawmakers now also forced former Attorney General Pam Bondi to testify and were prepared to subpoena Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, too, before he said he would voluntarily appear before the committee.
This trend is reflected in a new memorandumis highlighted in","Add":{"Target": :"New","Property":(),"url": :"https://www.politico.com/f/?id=0000019d-ad5c-de9d-a9fd-bfde0ff60000","_Identification": :"0000019d-af4f-df59-a39f-af5f73f50002","_Type": :"33ac701a-72c1-316a-a3a5-13918cf384df"},"_Identification": :"0000019d-af4f-df59-a39f-af5f73f50003","_Type": :"02ec1f82-5e56-3b8c-af6e-6fc7c8772266"}”>new memorandum The report, obtained by POLITICO and prepared by Oversight Democratic staff, claims that by going to the roundtable, Republicans are “avoiding the only forum where Democrats can force votes, demand documents, and hold the majority accountable.”
“We have heard from committee members, both Republicans and Democrats, that they are disappointed,” Rep. Robert Garcia, the committee’s top Democrat, said in an interview Monday. “We have important investigative work, and they want to do it right because we’re in the middle of this single, largest government cover-up in the modern history of Congress. And they want to deactivate the Oversight Committee. Give me a break.”
When a spokesperson for Oversight Republicans was contacted for comment, he did not respond to a question about whether the increase in roundtable meetings was intended to prevent subpoena votes. The spokesperson said the panel “will continue to hold multiple hearings” and will host a markup on fraud prevention legislation next week.
“Roundtables provide an opportunity to have more substantive and direct conversations with ordinary Americans about the issues facing communities across the United States,” the spokesperson said.
But the subpoenas of members over the past nine months have undoubtedly created a complicated political dynamic for Comer. He has become the de facto leader of Congress’ Epstein investigation, forcing him to balance demands for transparency with the political fallout from Trump’s one-time relationship with the late, convicted sex offender..
Republicans have seen a correlation between the increase in subpoenas and the subsequent increase in roundtable meetings in lieu of hearings.
Representative Glenn Grothman (R-Wis.) said at one point during the March subcommittee roundtable on mental health issues, “It’s no secret why we’re not having a formal hearing today. We want this hearing to be focused solely on the issue at hand, and there is some concern that — both sides are guilty of this — that they make motions in the middle of the hearing and try to bring up unrelated topics.”
Republicans have also issued subpoenas of their own, notably pressing for the testimony of Bill and Hillary Clinton in February.
Representative Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) suggested she was not happy with the new status quo.
While avoiding directly criticizing the roundtables, she said in an interview, “I’m a fan of committees that like to make motions for subpoenas.”
The last full-committee hearing convened by House Oversight on fraud in Minnesota was held in March. At that hearing, Republican Representative Nancy Mace of South Carolina was forced to vote to subpoena Bondy for his handling of the federal Epstein investigation. The five Republicans joined all the Democrats present in voting for the subpoena resolution, and Bondi’s recent removal is not calming calls for him to appear before the panel under oath.
Since that time, First Lady Melania Trump made a public statement in which she denied that she was ever victimized by Epstein and urged Congress to hold hearings with true victims — an appeal that may resonate with Mace and others who have bought into the subpoena practice, though Comer has indicated that he plans to hold such a hearing.
Meanwhile, oversight subcommittees have held five roundtables this year alone on topics like artificial intelligence and the Internal Revenue Service. The full committee is scheduled to convene its sixth roundtable Tuesday morning addressing “Legislation Against American Agriculture.”
This is compared to two subcommittee roundtables listed for 2025; The panel’s website shows Comer has not hosted a full committee roundtable since becoming chair in 2023.
Several Oversight Republicans said in interviews that they appreciated the opportunity to examine policy areas without the distraction of partisan mudslinging and subpoenas for which Oversight is known this term.
“When you’re really trying to get to the bottom of something, this is a more friendly way to do it,” said Rep. Eric Burlison (R-Mo.).
Rep. Clay Higgins (R-La.) argued during a recent committee hearing on the misuse of federal funds in Minnesota that the subpoena-happy approach adopted by his colleagues is undermining the seriousness of the panel’s work.
Higgins said, “Listen to your Uncle Clay, America – you don’t usually start with a subpoena presented by a member as a vote.” “I object to this process which is false and does not reflect the serious investigative work that the Oversight Committee does day in and day out.”
“Very well said,” Comer replied.
