GOP May End Google’s Honeymoon in Washington

Google and Democrats have enjoyed a happy marriage, with the company’s CEO Eric Schmidt even campaigning for President Barack Obama in 2008. But the technology monolith’s glory days in Washington may fade with Republicans in ascendancy, The Hill reports.

Google may become a target of investigations by several committees. Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., has pledged to act as an aggressive watchdog in his likely chairmanship of the House Oversight Committee. He has led congressional Republicans in questioning whether Google’s close ties to the Obama administration are appropriate.

Issa asked the White House in April whether a technology official and former Google employee had improper contact with the company.

His spokesman Seamus Kraft says the Oversight Committee “will continue to be concerned about consumer privacy issues and the Presidential Records Act.” Both issues directly affect Google.