Oversight Committee as Inquisition

15 January 2018

Over the course of the semester, I encourage you to watch for uses of ‘inquisition’ as metaphor in our current age. Here’s an example. Five days ago, when Represenative Darrell Issa (R) announced he would not run again for his Congressional seat in California, the New York Times included this observation in their coverage:

The founder of a successful car-alarm company, Mr. Issa is one of Congress’s wealthiest members. But he became best known in Washington for turning the Oversight Committee into something like an Inquisition. He appeared to relish the role.

What work is Inquisition doing in this paragraph?