House Republicans have begun mapping aggressive probes of the Biden administration if they win back the majority — including inquiries into the origins of COVID, a leak of IRS data about billionaires, and accusations the NSA spied on Tucker Carlson. 

Why it matters: The plans, obtained exclusively by Axios, show House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy would make muscular use of majority powers for the last two years of President Biden's term if, as expected, the GOP wins the majority in next year's midterms. 

• McCarthy plans to send a spate of "preservation notices" to departments throughout Biden's Cabinet, ordering them to retain documents that might be needed for future GOP oversight hearings. 

Between the lines: Republicans want to deflect attention from the 1/6 commission, a real-time probe of real violence, death and looting in the Capitol.

• As a prelude, House Republicans in August sent Biden a request to "preserve all records related to your Administration’s withdrawal ... from Afghanistan."

Investigations planned by House Republicans — in parallel with their legislative agenda — show they hope to use congressional power to stoke culture wars for 2024:

• IRS: Leak of a "vast cache of IRS information" about billionaires to ProPublica.
• National Security Agency: Tucker Carlson last summer accused the spy agency of targeting his show's communications. The NSA said he was never an "intelligence target."
• Parents: Attorney General Merrick Garland's vow to mobilize the FBI against "threats of violence against school board members," after the National School Boards Association used the phrase "domestic terrorism." The association apologized for its letter.
• Border: Record levels of illegal immigration.
• COVID: Origins of the virus, and CDC communications about school closures and mask mandates.
• Afghanistan: Decisions behind the withdrawal, and an accounting of Americans who remain stranded.
• JEDI: A disputed cloud-computing contract.

What's next: McCarthy plans to beef up staff, counsel and other resources to be ready to extract information beginning Day 1 if the GOP gets the gavel.