Congressional Oversight

The House Ways and Means Committee has opened an investigation into the University of Chicago Medical Center and Montefiore Medical Center after a New York Times report alleged the hospitals transplanted organs from U.S. donors into wealthy foreign nationals who traveled here specifically for surgery, potentially bypassing Americans on waiting lists. Committee Chair Jason Smith, R‑Mo., and Oversight Chair David Schweikert, R‑Ariz., sent letters Tuesday demanding transplant records and contracts by Feb. 10 and warning they will issue subpoenas if the systems do not comply, saying the alleged conduct 'strikes at the core' of what tax‑exempt hospitals owe the public. Lawmakers cite data showing foreign patients accounted for about 11% of heart and lung transplants at the University of Chicago from 2020–24—61 cases, more than any other U.S. hospital—and highlight an episode where a wealthy Japanese woman reportedly received a heart within three days of listing after a priority exception and her husband’s charity later donated to a nonprofit linked to the transplant surgeon’s family. They are also probing whether the hospitals struck contracts with foreign governments for transplant services, which could conflict with their community‑benefit obligations under federal tax law. The inquiry comes as more than 100,000 people remain on U.S. organ waitlists and thousands die each year awaiting transplants, making any evidence that wealth or foreign-government deals influence access politically explosive and likely to trigger broader scrutiny of UNOS allocation rules and hospital practices.

At a televised Jan. 22, 2026 House Judiciary hearing, former special counsel Jack Smith testified under oath that his investigation produced proof beyond a reasonable doubt that President Trump was “by a large measure the most culpable” and caused what happened at the Capitol on Jan. 6, and he defended subpoenas for phone and location data (including records for members of Congress) as lawful and evidence‑driven while saying charges were dropped after Trump’s 2024 victory pursuant to DOJ policy against prosecuting a sitting president. Smith said he could not discuss sealed portions of his classified‑documents report because of Judge Aileen Cannon’s order and grand‑jury secrecy, and rejected GOP accusations of politicization as unfounded amid questions about gag orders, subpoenas and payments to a confidential source.

The House Oversight Committee voted to advance contempt-of-Congress recommendations against Bill and Hillary Clinton after both declined to appear for closed‑door depositions in its Jeffrey Epstein inquiry, approving the Bill Clinton measure 34–8 (two present) and the Hillary Clinton measure 28–15 (one present), with several Democrats joining Republicans. The Clintons’ lawyers have called the subpoenas legally invalid and offered written declarations and limited interview alternatives that the committee rejected; Republicans say the resolutions will go to the full House and could be referred to DOJ for possible criminal prosecution.

House Oversight Chair James Comer is widening his investigation into alleged large‑scale social‑services fraud in Minnesota by demanding internal files from the state’s Office of the Legislative Auditor and summoning temporary Human Services Commissioner Shireen Gandhi for a transcribed interview on January 30, 2026. In a letter to Legislative Auditor Judy Randall, Comer asks for a staff‑level briefing plus all underlying documents and communications related to OLA reviews of the Minnesota Department of Human Services, citing a fresh performance audit that found DHS’s Behavioral Health Administration "did not comply with most requirements" tested and lacked adequate internal controls over grant funds from mid‑2022 through 2024. A separate letter warns Gandhi that if she does not appear voluntarily, the committee will consider "compulsory process," effectively threatening a subpoena. Oversight’s press release again claims criminals in Minnesota have stolen an estimated $9 billion in taxpayer funds meant for child nutrition, autism services, housing and Medicaid, figures that have become central to a broader Trump‑era push to use Minnesota as a model for a national fraud and clawback campaign. The moves layer an additional House committee onto existing Energy & Commerce and HHS investigations, increasing pressure on Minnesota officials and signaling that Congress intends to treat state‑level audit failures as a federal oversight and policy problem, not just a local scandal.

President Trump demanded an immediate probe into Rep. Ilhan Omar’s finances and alleged political crimes after disclosures reportedly showed her net worth rose by more than $30 million, saying the investigation should start “NOW.” His call comes as House Oversight chair James Comer advances hearings into alleged widespread fraud in Minnesota—prompting DOJ, DHS and HHS enforcement surges, freezes on child‑care funds and the deployment of thousands of federal agents—while prosecutors have charged and convicted dozens in related cases and Omar and Minnesota Democrats say the federal response is politically motivated.

President Trump says the media is overfocusing on ICE raids in Minnesota and underreporting what he calls a massive fraud scandal — repeating an $18 billion figure, linking alleged abuses to Minnesota’s Somali community and urging that the case be a template for probes in other states. Federal authorities have charged about 78 people in the Feeding Our Future child‑nutrition scheme (with more than 60 convictions or guilty pleas), noted meal‑claim growth from $3.4 million in 2019 to nearly $200 million in 2021, and prosecutors estimate up to $9 billion in broader social‑services fraud; the response has included CMS Medicaid audits and clawbacks, DHS worksite enforcement and a 30‑day HSI surge, DOJ prosecutorial deployments, a House Oversight hearing and federal funding freezes — actions critics warn risk stigmatizing the Somali community.