After Midterm Victory, Democrats Plan a Long List of Investigations Into the Trump Administration

Democrats won big in the midterm elections, but with President Trump still in the White House, the next Congress is unlikely to see much major legislation signed into law. Instead, expect far more oversight, as congressional Democrats plan an ambitious agenda of investigations for their return to power in the House and Senate, with public corruption and failing leadership among the top issues concerning voters.

Their new majorities give them the full investigatory powers of Congress, including the ability to subpoena records for review and compel individuals to testify before lawmakers.

Rep. Robert Garcia, the California Democrat expected to become chair of the House Oversight Committee, put it bluntly in a statement: "LAWYER UP."

Among Democrats' primary targets is the administration's handling of, and connections to, the scandals of the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Bipartisan congressional action forced the Trump administration to release extensive documents tied to federal investigations of Epstein's crimes and other alleged offences, though Democrats maintain that many records were improperly redacted or withheld. They also say the Justice Department has worked to shield Trump from damaging allegations — claims the department's leadership has denied.

In the new Congress, lawmakers are expected to probe ties between Epstein and other powerful figures, including the president himself, which they say is part of an effort to secure accountability for victims of Epstein's crimes.

In connection with an October report, Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland, the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, said Trump says he knew Epstein "just like everybody in Palm Beach knew him" — not exactly. Evidence involving 11 women tells a completely different and far more damning story about their relationship and the abuse of young women and girls that took place in their network, Raskin said. The president has long denied any wrongdoing related to Epstein.

Democrats also plan to continue investigations into what they describe as efforts by administration officials to advance the financial interests of the president, his family, themselves and close allies. In particular, they highlight the president's continued business interests, including Truth Social, a number of cryptocurrency projects and overseas projects involving his sons and powerful foreign investors.

Garcia has linked the high cost of living to politicians on both sides acting in their own self-interest. "Millions of dollars in dark money are flowing throughout our political system. Some members of Congress may be trading stocks based on information the public doesn't have. The revolving door between the government and lobbying for large corporations keeps spinning," he wrote last month in an MS Now opinion piece. "Americans are dealing with a cost-of-living crisis, and these abuses of power are making it worse. All the while, the wealthiest people in our country are richer than ever."

Trump returned to office promising a stricter approach to immigration, but public support for his deportation agenda has cratered after high-profile incidents involving federal immigration enforcement personnel, including the killing of two US citizens in Minnesota this year. While in the minority, Democrats documented hundreds of incidents of alleged abuse and misconduct by immigration agents and will continue that work, holding hearings on incidents of violence that largely went without congressional oversight in the first two years of the president's second term.

Democrats held a field hearing in Austin, Texas, in October on shootings by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Rep. Pramila Jayapal of Washington said after the hearing that ICE is a lawless, rogue agency causing generational trauma in communities across the country, and that House Democrats were doing the oversight work Republicans refuse to do.

In June, Democrats released a report documenting how they believe the Trump administration undermined public health infrastructure and US scientific research into chronic and deadly diseases. That work will continue in the new year, with a particular focus on Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Trump's muscular use of executive power, unrestrained by the Republican congressional majority, is expected to change. Committee staffers indicate the president's pet projects — remodeling the White House's East Wing, building a monumental arch, renovating the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, shuttering the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and paving the White House's Rose Garden — will face robust congressional oversight. The projects are entwined in a larger constitutional fight over appropriations: Congress has sole authority to decide how taxpayer dollars are spent, and the White House has repeatedly disregarded its declarations and rescinded billions of dollars in congressionally approved spending.

Constitutional authorities delegated to Congress will also take centre stage in Democrats' oversight of the US-Iran war. The legislature has sole authority to declare war, and presidents are required to seek authorization for the use of military force — something that has not happened for any of the Trump administration's military campaigns this term. Democrats also plan to press Pentagon officials, including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, on the war's cost. Even before Democrats take control, a House impeachment vote on Hegseth could come during the lame-duck session. More war powers votes, some attracting limited bipartisan support, are also expected; previous votes have passed but are largely symbolic and do not carry the weight of law.

Technology titan Elon Musk has poured hundreds of millions of dollars into Republican politics but has drawn Democrats' ire after interruptions to his satellite internet service stymied Ukraine's military operations against Russia. A group of Silicon Valley House Democrats wrote to the White House in October that the 120th Congress will closely scrutinize federal funding awarded to Musk's businesses, including whether the companies meet contractual obligations and whether adequate safeguards exist against political interference, arbitrary service restrictions and misuse of federal resources.