Congressional Investigations: Year In Preview And What To Expect In 2026

This is the fifth installment in our 2026 Year in Preview series examining important trends in white collar law and investigations in the coming year. We will be posting further installments in the series throughout the next several weeks. Our previous post, Securities Enforcement and Regulatory Developments from the SEC, CFTC, and PCAOB: 2026 Year in Preview, can be found here.

As Congress enters the mid-term election year, organizations across sectors should prepare for intensified congressional investigations. (For a discussion of some of the key differences between congressional and executive investigations see last year's post here.) With artificial intelligence reshaping entire industries, DEI programs under sustained political and legal vigilance, and the Trump administration reshaping federal enforcement priorities, congressional committees are poised to wield their investigatory powers with unprecedented vigor. The targets are broad, including: technology firms navigating an uncertain AI regulatory landscape, higher education institutions facing funding threats tied to diversity policies, climate-focused nonprofits scrutinized for alleged foreign influence, and health insurers under the microscope for rising costs and opaque algorithmic decision-making.

SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS IN AN ELECTION YEAR

Over the last 20 plus years, congressional investigations have been increasingly political, regardless of the party in control of each house. That said, the political nature of investigations only increases during election years, and we expect that to continue this year. Moreover, while the effects of the mid-terms on committee leadership will not be directly felt until next year it is likely that the current minority leadership may be signaling its own round of politically inspired investigations for next year if they are poised to take over the majority (we expect, for example, letters demanding preservation of documents relating to various matters).

With that proviso, below are the main initiatives we anticipate from Congress:

Technology

Technology, and especially artificial intelligence ("AI"), was a major focus for the first session of the 119th Congress. This year, Congress will likely continue exploring the impact of AI on our lives and begin probing more deeply the contours of a regulatory scheme for AI. Congressional Republicans will also likely continue their efforts to increase data privacy protections, fortifying American systems against national security threats. Other key areas to watch include the impact of technology and social media on children and digital asset regulation.

• Artificial Intelligence

With the recent explosion of artificial intelligence use across society, Congressional committees held several hearings in 2025 about AI use in the American economy. In September 2025, the Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Information Technology, and Government Innovation of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee held a hearing titled "Shaping Tomorrow: The Future of Artificial Intelligence," highlighting how AI is increasingly being used in multiple sectors, including healthcare and agriculture. It is also clear that Congress remains concerned about maintaining American dominance in this area, against adversaries like China and Russia, especially as it relates to advanced AI chips. This year, we can expect that Congress will continue diving into these areas.

• Social Media

Last year, we noted that Senator Ted Cruz, as head of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation could wield substantial influence related to AI-related investigations. As recently as January 15, 2026, Senator Cruz led a hearing focused on the intersection between technology, social media, and children's health, representing Congress's continued efforts to investigate the dangers of the internet and technology on children. Over the course of the rest of the year, we can expect legislators ongoing congressional investigations, perhaps related to possible legislation attempting to lessen these dangers (e.g., Senator Cruz's and Senator Brian Schatz's reintroduction of the Kids Off Social Media Act (KOSMA), legislation that aims to protect children from the harmful effects of social media by restricting children's access and the functionality of social media applications themselves).

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion ("DEI") Practices

To kick off the dismantling of federal DEI infrastructure, the second Trump Administration issued a number of Executive Orders ("EO"'s) directing agencies to terminate DEI offices, programs, contractors, and related curricula—realigning compliance expectations across grant-making and oversight functions that touch higher education (to be discussed further below). Guidance from the Office of Management and Budget ("OMB") and the Office of Personnel Management ("OPM") directing agencies to pause activities implicated by the EO's and to operationalize closures of DEI units signaled that federal program administration and grant oversight would be filtered through a new anti-DEI lens. We should expect congressional inquiries into DEI-linked policies in aid, hiring, programming and ceremonies to likely broaden.

Congress's 2025 approach to DEI followed the December 2024 House staff report condemning universities' responses to antisemitism and urging aggressive Title VI and Clery Act enforcement, funding consequences, and increased "viewpoint diversity." As a continuation of the "diversity" discussion, on June 26, 2025, the Subcommittee on Health Care and Financial Services of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform of the U.S. House of Representatives (the "Subcommittee") hosted a hearing titled, "Sacrificing Excellence for Ideology: The Real Cost of DEI". Majority members argued that DEI initiatives were divisive, produced fraud in federal programs, undermined meritocracy in sectors such as healthcare and education, and violated civil rights laws. While Minority members defended DEI initiatives as necessary when addressing systemic inequities within, e.g., the healthcare and education sectors, Majority members doubled down on the argument that legal action against companies and universities that implement DEI initiatives should be taken.

Congress has complemented the executive-enforcement posture by probing into "illegal activity" within advocacy groups: fraud on the basis of DEI-"friendly" policies or engagement. On April 2, 2025, the House Judiciary Committee, the Committee on House Administration, and the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform released a joint interim staff report targeting ActBlue, a major Democratic fundraising platform.

These congressional hearings and subsequent reports condemning the use or even consideration of DEI are in line with what to expect in 2026. More "illegal DEI" inquiries will target advocacy groups, affinity programs, hiring, and educational scholarships and fellowships. Congressional committees will press these institutions for lists of DEI-linked programs and donor restrictions—leveraging EO-termination mandates to frame noncompliance as grounds for restricting federal funds.

Higher Education

Throughout 2025, Congressional committees amplified scrutiny of universities' handling of antisemitism, gender policies, and DEI spending, previewing expansive document demands across disciplinary records, curricula, and donor‑funded initiatives. Congress doubled down on DEI-overhauls via a slate of higher education bill proposals and legislation, contemporaneously with investigations into institutions with programs and research that prioritize DEI, critical race theory ("CRT"), gender-sex disciplines, and more. We should expect Congress to use these investigations into higher education to build the factual and political predicate for further executive and legislative enforcement, and to pressure institutions with the immediate threat of funding consequences along the way.

In June 2025, the House Judiciary Committee requested Brown University's President to hand over all internal memos related to a disciplined student who used AI to determine what Brown employees did and the reasoning behind Brown's tuition. This student categorized Brown's staff in three categories, one being "DEI jobs." The Committee stated their concerns were due to "whether Brown University and other Ivy League institutions are engaging in anticompetitive pricing practices," finding reason for more oversight to combat these "serious concerns."

On November 6, 2025, the House Judiciary Committee released an interim staff report, alleging that George Mason University (GMU) likely violated the Civil Rights Act by "using racial quotas and racial demographic balancing in faculty hiring to advance GMU President Dr. Washington's diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiative." A further probe into GMU campuses allowed the Committee to gather more evidence supporting their allegations, creating more room for oversight to pressure colleges and universities to align hiring and funding structures with federal mandates. This groundwork foreshadows an escalated congressional effort into targeting and cracking down on DEI-based infrastructure in 2026.

This year, expect the House Education committees—working in tandem with Judiciary, Oversight, and Science committees—to use investigative pressure to assist the Trump administration in achieving its purported goal of "enforce[ing] civil rights laws to end illegal preferences and discrimination espoused by DEI programs." Title VI investigations will continue to tee up threatened funding freezes and negotiated resolution agreements, drawing on agency probes and committee hearings that highlight alleged failures to ensure nondiscriminatory access to programs, scholarships and fellowships. These investigations are designed to create an evidentiary record and political momentum to support legislation that conditions or restricts funding, while also chilling campus policies through reputational pressure and grant-risk narratives. Indeed, the consequences of these investigations are already in play: threatened blockades on new grants, potential loss of tax-exempt status, and litigation exposure even where institutions initially comply.

Climate-Focused Nonprofits

In 2025, Congress continued its efforts to investigate nonprofits associated with combatting climate change, and we do not expect those efforts to diminish in 2026. Republicans will likely continue such investigations, focusing on allegations of misuse of taxpayer funds and improper foreign influence.

A major focus of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee ("House Oversight Committee") has been the eight nonprofits that received grants from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, established under the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, former President Biden's landmark climate law. In March 2025, the House Oversight Committee intensified its investigation into the so-called "Green New Deal scam" and demanded documents and communications from the recipient nonprofits related to the funding they received. The EPA also froze the funds around the same time, sparking lawsuits and a counter-investigation by Democrats into the freeze.

More recently, the House Judiciary Committee opened an investigation into whether the Environmental Law Institute (ELI), a nonprofit research and education center working to improve environmental law and policy, is improperly influencing federal judges presiding over climate change-related lawsuits via its Climate Judiciary Project (CJP). Per the ELI's website, the CJP aims to provide judges with authoritative, objective, and trusted education on climate science. Members of the Committee have thus far sent letters to judicial groups and lawyers seeking information relating to communications with the ELI.

Looking farther afield, several representatives have called for investigations related to allegations that China's funding of certain U.S.-based climate nonprofits is designed to manipulate American policy in favor of Chinese "green" technology. Via a November 2025 letter to the Department of Justice (DOJ), representatives sought probes into potential violations of the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) and abuse of tax-exempt status by the climate nonprofits.

Healthcare

Given all of the debate surrounding the ACA Premium Tax Credits and the government shutdown that followed in 2025, healthcare and healthcare costs are likely to be an area of renewed focus for Congress in 2026. As a result, hospitals, insurers, and pharmaceutical companies are likely to face increased scrutiny, especially as "affordability" continues to be a sticking point for the American public and the Trump administration.

For example, on January 22, 2026, Congress convened top executives from major insurers such as UnitedHealth Group, CVS Health, Elevance Health, The Cigna Group, and Ascendiun, to discuss health insurance affordability. During the hearing before the Subcommittee on Health of the Committee on Energy and Commerce, Representatives from both parties pressed the executives on issues related to the rising cost of drugs, insurance premiums, preventative care versus diagnostic care, and the lack of competition in the insurance industry. As the year progresses, Congress's investigation into this area will likely expand.

As noted above, technology and AI concerns are also likely to be a focus within the healthcare space. During the January 22, 2026 hearing, Representative Robin Kelly questioned Stephen Hemsley, UnitedHealth Group's CEO, about reports citing an increase in "inappropriate" and unregulated AI authorization tools by UnitedHealth Group, which often result in authorization denials. As AI usage increases, in healthcare as well as other sectors, Congress will have to be prepared to swiftly investigate and respond to the resulting risks and potential harm presented by use of the rapidly developing technology.

In 2026, we can also expect Congress to continue investigating the care and treatment of transgender youth. While there has been little public investigative activity in this area as of late, we would not be surprised if Congress's efforts intensify as the year progresses, especially as investigations led by the Department of Justice and the Department of Health and Human Services develop.

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Companies, investors, scientific and educational institutions and non-profit organizations should expect the current Congress to aggressively use its investigatory powers to help forward the Republican agenda and the priorities of the Trump Administration in the areas we discuss above. We will continue to follow the activities of various congressional activities as the year progresses.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.