Republicans Will Be Back in Charge of House

Inside Higher Ed

Katherine Knott

November 18, 2022

Congressional Republicans are pledging oversight of the Biden administration now that they have officially secured control of the House of Representatives for the next two years.

The Republicans will likely hold a narrow majority in the House when the 118th Congress begins in January, while Democrats will still control the Senate and White House. Experts are doubtful that any meaningful legislation will pass during the next two years. However, higher education lobbyists and policy experts expect to see lawsuits challenging student loan forgiveness from the new GOP majority and stepped-up oversight of the U.S. Department of Education with a goal of setting up the Republican Party to win in 2024.

House Republicans held a press conference Thursday about the business dealings of President Biden’s son Hunter. Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, who is expected to be the next speaker of the House, mentioned a range of possible investigations that they could pursue in an interview with Fox News on Wednesday night after news outlets projected that Republicans would retake the majority in the House.

Representative Virginia Foxx of North Carolina, who is expected to take the gavel in the House Committee on Education and Labor, tweeted one word: “Oversight.”

In interviews and statements, Foxx has made it clear that she thinks Biden’s plan to forgive up to $10,000 in federal student loans for eligible Americans and up to $20,000 for Pell Grant recipients is illegal.

“Republicans will continue fighting this president’s abuse of the executive pen, including his attempt to keep 40 million borrowers in repayment limbo and forcing taxpayers to foot the bill,” Foxx told USA Today. “The department simply cannot continue to kick this can down the road.”

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