Top Democrats are ramping up oversight of the Trump administration and partner businesses after winning majorities in both the House and the Senate during Tuesday’s midterm elections, positioning them to seize committee gavels and subpoena power in January.
Recent reporting indicates that as vote tallies continue in several states, the electoral sweep secures Democrats no fewer than 54 Senate seats alongside 254 seats in the House of Representatives. Members of the party made commitments to look into both President Donald Trump’s White House and commercial enterprises that have collaborated with the administration.
According to Thursday reporting by CNBC, Democrats are projected to pursue a vigorous strategy when scrutinizing corporations, with a particular focus on businesses connected to the Trump family. The technology, cryptocurrency and prediction market industries, among others, could immediately be in the crosshairs.
If you’ve been making your profits by cheating American families and scamming your investors, you better get ready for some investigations — serious ones,
said Sen. Elizabeth Warren, the incoming chair of the Senate Banking Committee, on CBS’ Face the Nation
on Sunday. The American people are just damn sick of this.
Attorney General Todd Blanche took umbrage at the Democrats’ plans for investigations and said he may launch his own counterinvestigations against members of Congress. Blanche, Trump’s former personal attorney, was narrowly confirmed as the nation’s top cop earlier this year.
There could be,
Blanche said Sunday when pressed on CNN’s State of the Union
about whether the administration will counterinvestigate Democrats. When the threats become so vile and so dangerous that you are telling people in college that they better be careful if they want to work in the Trump administration because somebody will come after them, at some point you have to draw the line.
Blanche was referring to comments made by Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., who said during a University of Chicago event that she wants young people to weigh the potential professional complications of joining the administration. Trump has ordered the Justice Department to investigate Democrats over the comments.
In addition, Blanche targeted Robert Garcia, D-Calif., who is positioned to chair the House Oversight Committee, and appeared to issue a warning to committee members after Garcia told the administration and corporate executives to “lawyer up” in the aftermath of the election.
I would be very worried if I was a member on that committee,
Blanche said.
Garcia shot back on CNN, calling Blanche’s remarks a threat aimed at stopping real oversight. He is the person that should be reading the Constitution, because the Constitution makes it very clear that it’s our job in Congress to conduct oversight of the executive and the administration,
Garcia said.
| Elected Body | Democratic Seat Count | Incoming Power Status |
|---|---|---|
| Senate | At least 54 seats | Majority Control (January) |
| House of Representatives | 254 seats | Majority Control (January) |
