Congressional Hearings

Congress held its first investigative hearings in 1792, when a House committee examined the disastrous defeat of General Arthur St. Clair's army by Native American forces in the Northwest Territory. Since then, hearings have become one of Congress's main tools, and House and Senate committees and subcommittees hold thousands each Congress. Hearings are generally open to the public, many are broadcast or streamed, and committees publish transcripts and witness statements.

Hearings take four main forms. Legislative hearings gather views on bills, oversight hearings examine how agencies carry out the law and spend money, investigative hearings look into possible wrongdoing or crises, and confirmation hearings in the Senate review nominees. Witnesses include agency officials, experts, advocates, and affected citizens, and they usually submit written testimony in advance and answer questions from members, often under five-minute rules. Committees may invite witnesses or compel them with subpoenas, and witnesses who lie can be prosecuted.

Televised hearings have shaped national politics, from the 1951 Kefauver hearings on organized crime and the 1954 Army-McCarthy hearings to the 1973 Watergate hearings, the 1991 Clarence Thomas confirmation hearings, and the 2022 hearings of the House committee investigating the January 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. Supporters say hearings inform lawmakers and the public and hold officials accountable, while critics say many hearings have become partisan performances aimed at producing viral moments rather than information.