Congressional Oversight

Congressional oversight is how Congress watches, questions, and investigates the executive branch. It uses hearings, subpoenas, document requests, budget control, and investigations by committee staff and the Government Accountability Office. Committees in the House and Senate lead the work, and the courts and the Justice Department often become involved when the branches disagree.

People usually ask what Congress can demand, how contempt of Congress works, and how executive privilege limits it. They also ask how oversight applies to the military, the Justice Department, and federal agencies, and what happens when an agency declines to share records.