Open Letter to the 120th Congress: Restore Checks & Balances
An Open Letter to the Members-Elect of the 120th Congress: Congratulations, and a Call to Restore Checks and Balances
From Corey J. Biazzo, Esq. | Biazzo Law Government Oversight Program | November 5, 2026
In short: The Biazzo Law Government Oversight Program congratulates every Member-elect of the 120th Congress, of both parties and in both chambers. Voters asked you to lower costs. They also asked you to restore the constitutional checks and balances that went largely unused in the last two years. This letter recommends priority work your offices and committee staff can begin now, before you are sworn in on January 3, 2027. Every resource listed is free, nonpartisan, and grounded in the Constitution and court rulings.
Dear Senators-elect, Representatives-elect, and Staff:
Congratulations on your election or reelection. Whether you are returning to Congress or arriving for the first time, Republican, Democrat, or independent, you have earned the trust of your constituents at a consequential moment. You will take office in the year after our nation's 250th anniversary. You will also take the same oath every Member before you has taken: to "support and defend the Constitution of the United States."
I write on behalf of the Biazzo Law Government Oversight Program, a nonpartisan initiative of Biazzo Law, PLLC. We support and defend the U.S. Constitution through legal analysis, amicus briefs in the Supreme Court, Freedom of Information Act requests and litigation, model legislation, and public education. We take no side between parties. Our only commitments are to the separation of powers, the rule of law, and the principle that no one is above the law. We offer our work to every Member and every office, without charge and without asking for credit.
A two-part mandate: lower costs and restore accountability
Americans sent a clear message about their household budgets. They want relief from high prices for groceries, housing, health care, and gasoline, and that work deserves your first and best effort. But this election also carried a second message. Voters asked Congress to stand up for the rule of law and to use the checks and balances the Constitution gives it.
For two years, those checks went largely unused. Federal courts, including the Supreme Court, repeatedly found that executive actions exceeded the law or the Constitution. These included:
tariffs imposed under an emergency statute that does not authorize them;
National Guard deployments the governing statute likely did not permit;
prosecutors serving unlawfully;
a removal carried out in violation of a court order;
executive orders punishing law firms for their clients;
a lawsuit against the government that a federal court found collusive;
taxpayer-funded promotional ads before an election.
In each instance, the courts acted, one case at a time. Congress, with rare exceptions, did not hold the hearings, issue the subpoenas, or pass the laws that would have prevented these problems or exposed their full extent. Even routine public-records requests went unanswered until citizens sued, as our own FOIA lawsuits against DHS, ICE, the FBI, and the Department of Defense show.
These two mandates do not compete. Government that follows the law is also government that spends wisely, contracts honestly, and keeps markets stable. Corruption and lawlessness are costs that families ultimately pay. A Congress that restores accountability also strengthens the economy and the public's trust in it.
Congress can work on kitchen-table issues and accountability at the same time
Some will say Congress must choose between lowering costs and holding government accountable. It does not. Congress can walk and chew gum at the same time. Congress has always worked on many fronts at once, through hundreds of Members, dozens of committees and subcommittees, and thousands of skilled staff. The 120th Congress can divide the work according to the talents and expertise already in its ranks:
Legislate on kitchen-table issues wherever agreement is possible. Committees with jurisdiction over prices, energy, housing, and health care can negotiate in good faith with the administration and pass bipartisan relief.
Pursue accountability without pause. Oversight, judiciary, armed services, and homeland security committees can build the factual record and advance legislation to protect the separation of powers.
Put the right expertise on each task. Former prosecutors, military veterans, and economists, among other Members and staff, can lead where their experience counts most.
Draw on outside help. Committees can seek support from GAO, the Congressional Research Service, inspectors general, and outside counsel and experts. The Biazzo Law Government Oversight Program, for example, is available to assist without charge.
Relief at the kitchen table and accountability under the Constitution do not compete for the same hours. Each makes the other stronger. Negotiating in good faith on costs builds trust across the aisle, and a government that follows the law is one that families and markets can count on.
Priority work your offices can begin now
Committee assignments will shape each Member's role. But personal offices, transition teams, and incoming committee counsel do not need to wait until January 3 to start research and planning. We respectfully recommend the following priorities. Each links to a free analysis your staff can use as a starting point and test against their own research.
Preserve the evidence first. On the first day committees organize, send preservation letters to agencies covering all records, including personal devices and accounts used for official business. Evidence lost in early 2027 cannot be recovered later. See Follow the Money: Why Congress Must Investigate in 2027.
Adopt investigative plans with a clear legislative purpose. Identify witnesses, records, and requests to GAO and inspectors general, and tie each request to legislation. See the Investigative Plan: Witnesses and Evidence.
Review the eight model bills. They address war powers, the power of the purse, court orders, subpoenas, Justice Department integrity, elections, ethics, and use of force. They are drafted to comply with the Constitution and designed to win a veto-proof majority. See the Model Bills for the 120th Congress and Veto-Proof Reform.
Reassert war powers and limits on domestic deployment. Examine lethal strikes at sea and the use of the National Guard in American cities. See Boat Strikes and Due Process and National Guard in U.S. Cities.
Protect the power of the purse. Review tariffs, emergency powers, the use of public funds, and settlements paid from the Treasury. See Can Congress Investigate the Anti-Weaponization Fund?, Taxpayer-Funded Ads, and the White House Ballroom Order.
Ensure compliance with court orders and due process. See Abrego Garcia and Due Process.
Restore cooperation and accountability in federal use of force. See The Good and Pretti Killings and Congress's Oversight Powers.
Protect the independence of law enforcement, the press, and the public's right to know. See Nine FBI Agents and Analysts Sue Over Firings, New York Times Grand Jury Subpoenas Withdrawn, the White House Press Ban Ruling, and FOIA Lawsuits Show Why Congress Must Investigate.
Secure the administration of federal elections. Review federal changes to ballot handling and voter verification before the 2028 elections. See the USPS Ballot-Mail Case and DHS v. League of Women Voters and SAVE.
Strengthen ethics and the Emoluments Clauses. Examine foreign-government payments, gifts, and presidential library fundraising. See our amicus filing in the Miami presidential library emoluments case.
Understand the impeachment process before deciding whether to use it. Impeachment is a constitutional tool for fact-finding and accountability, and it can serve those purposes even without conviction. Whether to use it is a judgment for each Member based on the evidence. See How Impeachment Works and our Model Articles of Impeachment, offered as a drafting resource rather than a conclusion.
Accountability, not retribution
The purpose of oversight is a full and fair accounting of the facts, not payback. We urge every Member to hold that line. Investigations and any impeachment inquiry should:
seek the whole truth, including facts that help or hurt any side;
preserve testimony and evidence so that the record is complete and available to future Congresses, courts, and prosecutors;
give due process to every person whose conduct is examined;
let the chips fall where they may, and hold any official who broke the law accountable without fear or favor, regardless of party;
lead to durable reforms, so the same problems cannot recur under any President.
Deterrence matters. When violations of law go unexamined, future officials learn that the rules do not apply to them. When Congress builds a careful public record and the law is applied evenly, the lesson is the opposite, and every future administration of every party will remember it. Congress's role begins now. The role of prosecutors under the law, with full due process, is separate. We explain that division in Accountability, Deterrence, and the Rule of Law After Trump.
A process built on evidence also protects Congress itself. Courts look for remedial purpose and fair procedure. The public is more likely to accept the results when the process is visibly fair. And the next time, the President in question may belong to the other party. The standards set in 2027 will apply then too.
An invitation across the aisle
A special word to Members who supported President Trump and to the constituents who sent you to Washington. This letter does not ask you to abandon your values, your voters, or your party. It asks you to defend the institution you now belong to and the Constitution you will swear to uphold. The powers at stake belong to Congress as a whole, not to either party. A Congress that lets them lapse under one President will find them gone when the other party holds the White House.
President Reagan described America as a "shining city upon a hill." That light has never come from any one leader. It comes from a system in which the law binds the powerful as well as the powerless, and in which each branch checks the others. Members of every party who help restore that system will be on the right side of history. They will help the American experiment in self-government thrive for another 250 years, with a strong economy built on stable, predictable rule of law.
We ask you to put patriot over partisan and country over party. Work together across the aisle so that what happened in the last two years cannot happen again, no matter who is elected. Set an example of the rule of law for American democracy and for free nations everywhere. Let the 120th Congress begin a constitutional renaissance: a renewed commitment by all three branches, and by the people, to the Constitution's design.
The Biazzo Law Government Oversight Program is ready to help any office, of any party. We can provide briefings for Members and staff, technical drafting assistance, testimony, and copies of the records obtained through our FOIA litigation, all without charge. To request help, please contact Biazzo Law or call (703) 297-5777.
Congratulations again, and thank you for your service.
Respectfully,
Corey J. Biazzo, Esq. Biazzo Law, PLLC Biazzo Law Government Oversight Program www.biazzolaw.com
This letter is offered for public education and legislative assistance. It is not legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. The Oversight Program is nonpartisan. It does not endorse candidates or parties and accepts no direction from any campaign or party.
Resource library for Members and staff
Planning for the 120th Congress
Impeachment as a constitutional process
War powers, deployments, and use of force
Courts, due process, and the Justice Department
Spending and the power of the purse
Press freedom and transparency
Elections
Ethics and emoluments
Frequently asked questions
What is the Biazzo Law Government Oversight Program? A nonpartisan initiative of Biazzo Law, PLLC. It supports and defends the U.S. Constitution through legal analysis, Supreme Court amicus briefs, FOIA litigation, model legislation, and public education.
What should incoming Members of the 120th Congress prioritize? Lowering costs for families, and restoring congressional checks and balances: preserving evidence, adopting investigative plans, reviewing reform legislation, and reasserting Congress's powers over war, spending, and oversight.
Is this letter partisan? No. It is addressed to every Member of both parties. The reforms it recommends would apply to every future President.
When does the 120th Congress begin? At noon on January 3, 2027, under the Twentieth Amendment.
How can congressional offices get help? Contact Biazzo Law through biazzolaw.com or at (703) 297-5777 for free briefings, drafting assistance, or testimony.
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