Congress Gives Itself Article II Authority

Legislatures make laws, and the executive branch enforces them. But the US Capitol Police are an exception — a law enforcement agency that works for, and reports to, Congress itself. That exception has worked because the Capitol Police were only securing the buildings where Congress works; they’ve policed a single place on behalf of the institution that uses that place for its business, referring charges to prosecutors in the executive branch. After January 6, though, the Capitol Police went national: They began opening investigative branch offices in cities far from the Capitol. In effect, Congress gave itself an Article I FBI, a legislative law enforcement arm with national reach. Now they’re going farther.