The Washington Post spoke to more than a dozen Democratic politicians and congressional staffers who may take over leadership of key House committees. It follows that a very extensive program of inspections and investigations is being prepared regarding Donald Trump, his administration, and in some cases also his family.
If Democrats win a majority, they will take over the committee chairmanship. This means the possibility of organizing hearings, requesting documents and calling administration officials to testify. One of the main topics will be the interests of Donald Trump and his family. Democrats want to investigate, among other things, foreign cryptocurrency transactions and activities. They also want to look into investments by companies linked to Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump and whether companies in which the president's sons invested received federal contracts or favorable decisions from the administration.
But this is just the beginning. The next area is to be presidential pardons. Democrats want to check the cases of people convicted of fraud who previously supported Trump financially or were associated with his political entourage. The list of topics also includes large investments and projects pushed by the president. Democrats announce control of expenses related to, among others, the reconstruction of the White House, the Kennedy Center and projects changing the space of Washington.
Immigration will be a very serious topic. Democrats want to investigate immigration enforcement, detention of people with legal status, conditions in detention centers and how the Department of Homeland Security spends money. They also want to revisit the issue of using the National Guard in Democratic-run cities. Another huge area is the reconstruction of the federal administration.
Changes in administration
Since the beginning of Trump's second term, the administration has made very profound changes in the functioning of the federal government. Democrats want to check mass layoffs of officials, liquidation or curtailment of federal institutions, and cases of withholding money previously allocated by Congress. American intelligence services are also of particular interest. Democrats announce that they will analyze cases of firing officers and officials who presented assessments contrary to the position of the White House.
There is another topic that could lead to very sharp hearings in Congress. Democrats want to investigate the justice system's actions against Donald Trump's political opponents. These include proceedings involving former FBI Director James Comey, New York State Attorney General Letitia James, and Democratic members of Congress. Democrats say some of the action was political. The Trump administration denies such allegations.
The investigations will also cover foreign policy. This is where the list of questions might be particularly interesting. Democrats want to look into the role of Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner in negotiations with Russia, Ukraine, Iran and Israel, among others. They want to know why people operating outside the traditional structures of the State Department played such an important role in American diplomacy and whether conflicts of interest may have arisen in some cases. The war with Iran, customs policy, trade agreements, military actions against Venezuela, the situation in Gaza and the plane given to the president by Qatar may also come under the microscope.
There is also the case of Jeffrey Epstein. Democrats announce further hearings on the documents and the administration's handling of their disclosure. This all goes to show why Gavin Newsom is talking about a "day of reckoning." Because if Democrats take over the House of Representatives, the change will not only be that it will be more difficult for Donald Trump to pass bills through Congress. What will change first of all is who will control the administration.
Changes coming?
For the first two years of Trump's second term, the White House has been cooperating with a Republican-controlled Congress. After the election, however, he may face Democrat-led commissions that will have the ability to conduct multiple investigations in parallel. The White House is already preparing for this possibility.
According to The Washington Post, administration lawyers instructed political appointees on how to prepare for congressional scrutiny. The administration may also invoke the privilege of the executive branch and try to block some of the Democrats' demands. This, in turn, may lead to months of court disputes.
The White House, in turn, presents the Democrats' plans completely differently. Its representatives accuse them of preparing a political campaign against the president instead of a program to improve the lives of Americans. Even among Democrats, there are warnings against promising voters too much.
Some recall the experience of Trump's first term and warn that investigations could backfire politically if voters believe that Congress is mainly concerned with fighting the president.
There is also the question of impeachment. Some Democratic voters are already demanding that the procedure begin almost immediately after retaking the House. Its acquisition does not automatically mean impeachment, and even less does it mean Trump's removal from office. The House can impeach the president, but a two-thirds majority of senators is needed to convict and remove him from office.
The November elections could be a turning point
Donald Trump will remain president. He will retain very broad constitutional powers, but if Democrats take over the House of Representatives, a period of almost permanent control of his administration may begin.
Auditions. Requests for documents. Investigations into money, foreign policy, immigration, the justice system and his family's activities.
Therefore, Gavin Newsom's words are worth understanding in this context. When he says that “the Trump presidency as we know it will end in November,” he is not talking about the end of his term. It talks about the possible end of the two years during which Donald Trump had a Republican Congress behind him.
If Democrats win the House, the next two years could look very different. And instead of the question: what else will Donald Trump do as president, another question may increasingly be asked in Washington: what will Democrats want to investigate?
