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There Are Limits to Congress’s Investigatory Powers
Congress’ authority to conduct investigations under its “power of inquiry” is derived implicitly from Article I’s vesting of “legislative Powers” with Congress. This constitutional power is broad in scope: Congress is authorized to initiate investigations, hold hearings, gather testimony or documents from witnesses, and in certain situations, compel compliance with its investigations through the issuance and enforcement of subpoenas. The current Congress has been eager to exercise this authority by investigating a wide variety of issues, often on issues that are of interest to the public. (See, H.R. Comm. And S. Comm. On the Judiciary, 119th Cong., Letter to David Coleman (October 1, 2025); H.R. Subcomm. on Cybersecurity, Info. Tech., and Gov. Innovation, 119th Cong., Letter to Dara Khosrowshahi (Sept. 24, 2025); H.R. Comm. On Oversight and Gov. Reform, 119th Cong., Letter to David Joyner (Sept. 4, 2025).)
To facilitate these investigations, the current 119th Congress has provided certain Committee chairs with “unilateral subpoena authority,” which “represents a major expansion of investigatory power that may have implications for any businesses subject to federal regulation and oversight.” See, Michael Brady et al., “Congress’ Subpoena and Oversight Changes Merit Businesses’ Review,” Bloomberg Law (Feb. 7, 2025). As a result, businesses across all sectors of the economy should be knowledgeable about how best to respond to a Congressional investigation, and ultimately, if the Committee is not satisfied with voluntary compliance efforts, the options available to them for objecting to a Congressional subpoena.
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