Each year, a senator reads George Washington’s Farewell Address to the Senate. Its warnings about factionalism, disunity, and political revenge remain strikingly relevant today. Read the full address: www.senate.gov/artandhistor...

From 1966–1971, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, led by William Fulbright, held oversight hearings scrutinizing the Vietnam War’s rationale, tactics, and effectiveness. The hearings informed the public, shaped opinion, and influenced the course of U.S. history.

We’re excited to announce the 2026/27 Elise J. Bean Oversight Fellows, Laura de Castro Quaglia from Roanoke College, and Greg Hunt! Their research will explore legislative oversight, accountability, transparency, and democratic governance, continuing Elise Bean’s legacy.

The June 1 deadline is approaching for the Levin Center Award for Excellence in Oversight Research. The award honors impactful scholarship on legislative oversight, accountability, investigations, and democratic governance. Apply today:

Congress has the power to expel or censure its members. In 1868, Rep. Fernando Wood (D-N.Y.) was censured by the House for “unparliamentary language” for referring to Reconstruction legislation as a “monstrosity, a measure of the most infamous acts of this most infamous Congress.”

The Levin Center will receive a $250,000 grant from the Erb Family Foundation to support its nonpartisan programs strengthening legislative oversight and democratic accountability. www.erbff.org/nearly-11m-a...

Researching legislative oversight, investigations, audits, or government accountability? Apply for the Levin Center Award for Excellence in Oversight Research. The deadline to submit is June 1. Learn more:

The Levin Center Award for Excellence in Oversight Research recognizes outstanding scholarship on legislative oversight and accountability. Researchers from across disciplines are encouraged to apply. Submission deadline: June 1.

President Trump’s $1.8 billion fund for possibly paying persons committing violence on Jan. 6 is more than the annual budget of the U.S. Senate ($1.2 billion or $3.50 per American), an amount hardly sufficient to oversee the executive branch and competently do the people’s business.

Applications are now open for the Levin Center Award for Excellence in Oversight Research. The award recognizes outstanding scholarship on legislative oversight, accountability, and democratic governance. Apply by June 1:

In these times, a reminder of what democracy demands of our leaders and us all. @ Maryland State House

Shame on Congress if it does not find a way to stop the establishment of the “weaponization” fund - an egregious violation of ethics and the rule of law. www.pbs.org/newshour/pol...

Applications are open for the Levin Center Award for Excellence in Oversight Research! Scholars examining legislative oversight, accountability, and democratic governance are encouraged to apply. Learn more and submit your work. Deadline: June 1.

Join the #Kindness250 movement and help inspire 250 million acts of kindness ahead of America’s 250th anniversary. Small acts can make a big difference — from helping a neighbor to checking in on a friend. Take the Kindness Challenge tomorrow, 5/16! goodneighbordayamerica.com/kindness-challenge

During Reconstruction, 1,500+ Black Americans served in elected office. In 1870, Hiram Revels became the 1st Black senator and Joseph Rainey the 1st Black House member. Jim Crow and voter suppression later reversed many gains. www.washingtonpost.com/politics/int...

Appeals court ruled in the favor of the Democrats, who are trying to inspect ice facilities. www.nytimes.com/2026/05/08/u...

Joseph McCarthy’s fact-free anti-communist investigations reached a breaking point in 1954 when Army counsel Joseph Welch rebuked him at a televised hearing: “Have you no sense of decency?” Public opinion turned, and the Senate censured McCarthy later that year.

CORD has expanded its collection with 57 oversight reports from 12 temporary and select congressional committees investigating crises, reforms, and national challenges. CORD now covers 32 committees and 2,309 reports total. www.cord-levin-center.org

Congress’s cuts to key congressional offices and staff is self-mutilation at the expense of the American public. firstbranchforecast.substack.com/p/there-they...

On 2/16/17, House Oversight & Government Reform Chair Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) asked DOJ to charge former State Department employee Bryan Pagliano for refusing to appear for testimony. “The authority to compel witnesses is integral to Congress’ and the Committee’s investigative powers.”

Since 1795, the House has compelled witness attendance. Early cases focused on abuse or discredit of the House. In its first case, Robert Randall tried to bribe Members over a land deal. The House arrested him, held him in contempt, reprimanded him, and jailed him for a week.

Check out Levin Center director @jim-townsend.bsky.social's column in today's Detroit Free Press! www.freep.com/story/opinio...

James Madison wrote to Thomas Jefferson: “The constitution supposes, what the History of all Govts demonstrates, that the Ex. is the branch of power most interested in war, & most prone to it. It has accordingly with studied care, vested the question of war in the Legisl.” #America250 #Congress250

Congressional hearings aren't just for lawmakers. They are a core way for the public to learn what the government is doing in its name. That function matters most when the country is at war. Delaying public oversight weakens accountability when it is needed most. www.nytimes.com/2026/04/13/w...

After presidents launched combat in the Dominican Republic, Laos, and Vietnam without declarations of war, Congress passed the War Powers Resolution to ensure shared judgment. Section 3 requires presidents to consult Congress “in every possible instance” before and during hostilities.

DOJ claims House Oversight Committee can’t compel Pam Bondi since she’s no longer AG, but the subpoena names her personally. As U.S. Supreme Court has made clear, all Americans must comply with congressional subpoenas—what matters is her knowledge. thehill.com/homenews/hou...

Friday Fact! In 1848, first-term House member Abraham Lincoln wrote: #America250

In 2023, Sen. Judiciary Cmte held a hearing: "The Equal Rights Amendment: How Congress Can Recognize Ratification and Enshrine Equality in Our Constitution." Dick Durbin began by discussing his first job as a lawyer - helping IL lawmakers consider the ERA.

Did you know that the Levin Center has special oversight workshops for women legislators? We spent a great afternoon with the New York Legislative Women's Caucus in October discussing how women can work together to do great oversight in their state legislature!

📢 CORD just got bigger! The Levin Center’s Congressional Oversight Records Database now includes Senate & House Judiciary Committees—adding 153 reports (1996–2025). That’s 2,250 oversight reports from 15 committees, free for researchers!

In Oct. 2021, the House Oversight Committee held a hearing on the Equal Rights Amendment. Rep. Maloney said that the 7-year ratification deadline "was not included in the Amendment itself, and there is no time limit on equality, or in the Constitution."

The Constitution grants Congress the sole power to declare war. Congress has declared war on 11 occasions, the first in 1812 on Great Britain, with narrow approval: 79-49 in the House; 19-13 in the Senate, along strictly partisan lines. #America250

The first known women's caucus, founded in CT in 1927 by Rep. Julia McClune Emery, was called the Order of Women Legislators (OWL). It went national in 1938. Its goal was to "promote a spirit of helpfulness" among women legislators and act as a "clearing house for information."

The Levin Center is appalled that a president of our country would say he is “glad” that a fellow countryman is dead,  particularly a person of such accomplishment and commitment to public service as Robert Mueller.

March is National Reading Month, so we thought we'd offer some staff recommendations! Here are Ben's: The Return of the King by J.R.R. Tolkien The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder by David Grann

March is National Reading Month, so we thought we'd offer some staff recommendations! Here are Linda's: Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry Middlemarch by George Eliot Killer Angels by Michael Shaara Weight of Ink by Rachel Kaddish Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf

March is National Reading Month, so we thought we'd offer some staff recommendations! Here are Jim's: The Known World by Edward Jones Atonement by Ian McEwan Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry

March is National Reading Month, so we thought we'd offer some staff recommendations! Here are Clara's: Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier Middlemarch by George Eliot Jade City by Fonda Lee Pachinko by Min Jin Lee

March is National Reading Month, so we thought we'd offer some staff recommendations! Here are Kyle's: Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë The Wedding People by Alison Espach The Prisoner in His Palace by Will Bardenwerper Truman by David McCullough

March is National Reading Month, so we thought we'd offer some staff recommendations! Here are Margaux's: If Cats Disappeared from the World by Genki Kawamura Veronica Speedwell series by Deanna Raybourn Winter Journal by Paul Auster Harry Potter series (with her daughter)

It was hard to serve in Congress in the early years. Travel was difficult. Members of Congress had to live away from their homes and jobs for months at a time. Pay was modest -- $6/day. According to the National Archives, 1/3 of the Senate resigned from office in the 1790’s. #America250 #USA250

📢Announcing our 2026 D.C. Intern Cohort! Kendall Yancey, a 1L at Wayne Law and Hampton University graduate, is interested in foreign policy, national security, and legislative oversight. He’ll serve his internship with the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party.

Announcing our 2026 D.C. Intern Cohort! Jeremiah Arnold, a 1L at Wayne Law and SVSU graduate, majored in Criminal Justice and Sociology and interned with the SVSU Foundation. He’ll serve on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee as this year’s Pauline Cohen Endowed Intern.

📢Announcing our 2026 D.C. Intern Cohort! Shannon Higgins, a 1L at Wayne Law, studied Biopsychology, Cognition & Neuroscience at the University of Michigan and worked with Chicago Appleseed Center for Fair Courts. She’ll intern with the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations.

The 1st Cong. met on 3/4/1789. “It is arguably the most important Congress in U.S. history.” (Ntl. Arch.) Everything it did was new: est. rules of operation; created Depts of State, War, Treasury, and a temporary postal service; raised revenues; and est. the federal judiciary. #America250 #USA250

On this day in 1789, the first session of the United States Congress convened at Federal Hall, launching the new government created by the United States Constitution. The First Congress would soon pass the Bill of Rights — helping shape American democracy. #OnThisDay #America250

Principles for evaluating nominees to be the next US Comptroller General — from integrity and independence to data-driven vision and leadership. These criteria aim to strengthen GAO’s role as Congress’s nonpartisan watchdog. Read the full letter ➡️

"Congressional inquiry into the disaster — one of the earliest major investigations of the executive branch — helped define norms of oversight in the American constitutional system." -Wayne E. Lee's reference to the origins of Congressional oversight after the defeat. @levincenter.bsky.social