Say Goodbye to Oversight?

With Democrats in control on Capitol Hill, the incoming Obama team shouldn't have to worry much about hostile probes. Last week's confirmation hearings for top Obama nominees were largely congenial (though there are still a few ongoing flaps, including Treasury nominee Tim Geithner's tax and "nanny" issues). Legislative insiders say a reshuffling of key committee posts in the new Congress will ensure that investigations of Obama's actions will proceed with caution. "I'm not overwhelmed with the new lineup [of committee chairs]," said Peter Stockton, who spent years leading inquiries for Michigan Democratic Rep. John Dingell.

Dingell, the cantankerous chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, was pushed out by Rep. Henry Waxman, who as head of Oversight and Government Reform conducted aggressive headline-hunting probes into alleged malfeasance by the Bush administration. But with Obama in the White House, Waxman is expected by congressional aides to use his post largely to pursue health-care and environmental legislation. The new oversight chair is Edolphus Towns, 74, of Brooklyn, N.Y., who is not known for his investigative prowess, or even his attendance. He missed some hearings on the financial bailout and was conspicuously absent for Waxman's grilling of pitching ace Roger Clemens, whom Towns had greeted in a friendly photo op a few days earlier. (An aide said Towns missed the hearings due to shoulder surgery and the flu.) In comments last week, Towns pledged "vigorous" oversight of the bailout and said he'd be on the lookout for "waste, fraud and abuse." So far, he's identified one issue he definitely wants to investigate: why there's no playoff system for NCAA football. The aide said Towns will be a "conciliator, a coalition builder," not a flamethrower.

Other committees that historically conducted aggressive investigations, including the House and Senate banking committees, are proceeding gingerly when it comes to questions about the incoming Obama administration. Bill Duhnke, the Republican staff director for the Senate banking committee, told NEWSWEEK that the panel's Democratic majority, led by Sen. Chris Dodd, flatly refused a GOP request to summon Geithner to a pre-confirmation hearing. Similarly, Sen. Arlen Specter, the ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, complained that the committee's chair, Sen. Patrick Leahy, refused a GOP request to subpoena witnesses to testify about Attorney General-designate Eric Holder's involvement in the Marc Rich pardon.

A few legislators are still committed to pursuing tough investigations after Jan. 20. Sen. Carl Levin, a Michigan Democrat, heads a subcommittee that has been carefully probing offshore tax-evasion schemes. And Sen. Chuck Grassley is trying to probe financial regulatory lapses, but as a Republican, he doesn't have much muscle.