The Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (SSCI) was created in 1976 following the Church Committee investigations that exposed CIA abuses — including assassination plots and domestic surveillance of political opponents. The SSCI has 21 members with access to classified intelligence programs. It confirms the DNI, CIA Director, and NSA Director, reviews intelligence budgets, and holds the annual Worldwide Threats hearing where intelligence chiefs testify publicly. The committee chair, from the majority party, controls the hearing agenda, which gives the majority party significant influence over what witnesses are pressed on.