When Republicans vowed to launch investigations into a series of matters sensitive to Democrats, it seems they were not just issuing empty threats. Indeed, House GOP lawmakers have already begun preparing their offensive eight months before they would take power, assuming they manage to win back the lower chamber in November’s congressional elections.

Earlier this year, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) declared the GOP would initiate investigations into the Biden administration upon retaking Congress. These probes would look into the Hunter Biden laptop scandal, the botched withdrawal from Afghanistan, the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic, and more.

Republican lawmakers on the House Oversight Committee sent document preservation requests to the White House, according to Rep. James Comer (R-KY). The congressman, who has referred to Hunter Biden as a “national security threat,” told The Washington Times the committee wants to be fully prepared to get the wheels moving when they are in charge of the House.

“We just don’t want the administration to say, ‘Well, we didn’t keep this or we lost track of that.’ The administration knows exactly what the Republicans on the House Oversight Committee are going to be requesting in January when we take the gavel,” he explained.

Among the aforementioned issues, the GOP also plans to look into “anything that has negatively impacted the taxpayer,” according to The Times. Comer said:

“There need to be better guardrails on the spending. We’re going to be focused on the border, the lack of border security and how much that’s cost the taxpayers. I don’t think people realize how much the taxpayers are paying every day for housing of illegals, transportation of illegals, health care for illegals.”

So far, the White House has not cooperated with the GOP lawmaker’s request. It has refused to provide information regarding how many Afghanis were relocated to the United States and details on the vetting process.

Anthony Fauci (Photo by Shawn Thew-Pool/Getty Images)

Republicans also plan to subpoena Dr. Anthony Fauci, Chief Medical Adviser to President Joe Biden, to answer questions about the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic as well as other matters. “We’re going to continue to dive into that,” Comer said. “What else did Dr. Fauci know about how much money actually went there? Has it stopped? What continues to happen in that lab? Are we working with any other foreign countries or any other Chinese labs with respect to mad science type of research that Dr. Fauci was leading?”

Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY), chair of the House Republican Conference, also chimed in during an interview with Larry Kudlow on Fox Business. She focused on the Hunter Biden scandal, noting how social media worked to suppress the story when the details first surfaced. “Big Tech colluded with the mainstream media to censor the story. We’ve always known the laptop is real,” she said.

Stefanik continued:

“We’re going to hold this administration accountable, hold the President and his family accountable. There are questions that need to be answered from Hunter Biden and, frankly, the other members of the Biden family. For example, Hunter Biden’s investments in the Chinese Communist Party, potential pay-to-play, corruption, and criminal issues when you have Russian oligarchs funneling millions of dollars to Biden family businesses.”

The lawmaker contended that Republicans “know the ‘Big Guy’ is Joe Biden” and that they need his son Hunter to testify under oath. “If he won’t testify, he needs to be subpoenaed to answer those questions for the American people because the stakes could not be higher.”

Democrats are already in trouble. But it appears the shellacking they will take in November might be only the beginning of their political woes. Republicans seem to be feeling uncharacteristically pugilistic these days. If they follow through on their threats, the investigations could uncover a plethora of information that could further damage Democrats.

In fact, given the number of probes Republicans plan to launch, the offensive could carry over into the 2024 presidential campaign, which will make it even less likely that Democrats will continue to hold the White House. If the GOP plays its cards right, they might set themselves up for critical wins in the next two elections.

~ Read more from Jeff Charles.