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Democrats Vow Major Probes Into Trump 11/05 06:20
Corruption topped the list of concerns for voters who ousted Republicans and
handed Democrats control of Congress in the midterm elections. Now, the newly
empowered Democratic Party is putting the issue front and center as its leaders
chart their course for investigations and policymaking.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Corruption topped the list of concerns for voters who
ousted Republicans and handed Democrats control of Congress in the midterm
elections. Now, the newly empowered Democratic Party is putting the issue front
and center as its leaders chart their course for investigations and
policymaking.
Senior Democrats in both chambers of Congress have vowed to marshal the
subpoena powers and larger investigative staffs that come with their soon-to-be
majorities to probe what they say is the self-enrichment that President Donald
Trump and people in his orbit have done at the public's expense. The Republican
president and his White House have long denied any wrongdoing.
House Democrats are preparing a vast oversight agenda to look at how Trump
and his family have become wealthier since he returned to office -- and
Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York, who's in line to become House
speaker, has not ruled out trying to impeach Trump for a third time.
Months ago, Jeffries tasked the ranking Democrats on the Oversight and
Judiciary committees, Rep. Robert Garcia of California and Rep. Jamie Raskin of
Maryland, with leading the effort, as Democrats work to link the costs of
public corruption to the affordability concerns hitting Americans' pocketbooks.
"Lawyer up," Garcia posted on X as election results favoring Democrats began
coming in on Tuesday night.
The Senate is expected to conduct similar investigations.
"Americans want us to clean up corruption in government," said Sen. Chuck
Schumer, D-N.Y., who is poised to return as Senate majority leader next year.
"No American should have to make tradeoffs at the supermarket while Trump is
making inside trades on the stock market."
Investigation targets could include ICE raids, Epstein and DOGE
Garcia, the top Democrat on the Oversight and Government Reform Committee,
has outlined five priorities, including Trump family business dealings, the
administration's handling of the Jeffrey Epstein investigation and Immigration
and Customs Enforcement operations. Rep. Jared Huffman of California, the
ranking Democrat on the Natural Resources Committee, said he wants to dig into
Trump's White House ballroom and other construction projects, as well as the
Trump family's role in mineral deals.
With the House majority comes an infusion of congressional committee staff
and resources, and the effort is expected to be sprawling, involving House
committees with authority to conduct oversight on Cabinet officials and the
agencies they lead.
In the Senate, Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., who is expected to become
the chairman of the Homeland Security Committee's Permanent Subcommittee on
Investigations, said his panel will want to look into Trump's real estate
projects around the nation's capital and his crypto dealings with special envoy
Steve Witkoff. Witkoff is a longtime ally who partnered with Trump on the
president's family cryptocurrency venture, World Liberty Financial.
"The tentacles of corruption reach deep in this administration, and they
have added costs to everyday Americans," Blumenthal said in an interview with
The Associated Press on Wednesday. The senator added that he also wants
hearings on ICE raids, the actions of the Department of Government Efficiency
and Medicare plans he says are too restrictive and have cost some patients care.
Meanwhile, Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon, who is in line to become
Senate Finance Committee chairman, ticked off several investigative targets
that he describes as part of an "accountability" agenda, including banks that
he contends ignored red flags about the financial dealings of Epstein and
pharmaceutical companies that have profited from their ties to the Trump
administration.
"When I am chair, they will be forced to answer to the Senate Finance
Committee for their role in hurting the American people and enabling Trump's
corruption," Wyden said in a statement Wednesday.
The issue of corruption resonated for voters, The AP Voter Poll shows
Many U.S. voters in Tuesday's elections expressed deep concerns about
government corruption and the state of democracy, according to The AP Voter
Poll, which surveyed more than 100,000 voters nationwide.
While roughly 4 in 10 voters said the economy was the top issue facing the
country, about 3 in 10 said that "the state of democracy" was the top issue.
About half of U.S. voters said government corruption was "crucial" to their
vote for Congress, and most of those voters supported the Democratic candidate
in their local U.S. House race, while about one-third said they voted for the
Republican.
About 8 in 10 voters who said "the state of democracy" was the top issue
facing the country supported the Democrat, while about 2 in 10 supported the
Republican.
Older voters, those age 65 or older, were more likely than voters under 65
to say "the state of democracy" was the most important issue facing the
country. About 4 in 10 older voters pointed to this as the nation's top
problem, compared with about 3 in 10 who said the economy. That view was
reversed with younger voters, who were more likely to call the economy the top
issue.
That explains why anti-corruption played such a central role in Democratic
campaigns this cycle, with candidates accusing their Republican opponents of
looking out for themselves or their donors rather than a broader constituency.
They embraced stock trading bans and bans on former members of Congress
becoming lobbyists and promised to be part of an effort to root out corruption.
Democrats' challenge: Focusing on corruption without ignoring cost-of-living
issues
In his public comments since his party lost the elections, Trump has taken a
conciliatory tone toward Democrats, conceding that they "did a good job" in
their campaigns as he's tried to skirt personal blame for the GOP's midterm
thrashing. That could change as investigations ramp up.
"As the president has said, he's willing to work with anyone to continue
delivering victories for hardworking Americans," White House spokeswoman Lauren
Bis said Wednesday. "If Democrats choose to pursue sham investigations and
radical left policies, they are choosing to work against the American people."
Schumer insisted that congressional Democrats will be able to balance
legislating on key issues, such as affordability, while launching
investigations to target "rampant corruption."
In a letter to Democratic lawmakers announcing his candidacy for House
speaker, Jeffries said the "days of the House functioning like a wholly owned
subsidiary of the Trump administration are over."
"The massive corruption the country has experienced from the Trump Cartel
explains why very little is getting done to help everyday Americans," Jeffries
wrote as he promised to target price gouging and push for a stock trading ban
for lawmakers. "That changes immediately."
The challenge for Democrats will be to continue to tie corruption to the
affordability issues that topped the list of concerns for voters.
The Congressional Integrity Project, an advocacy group initially created to
combat Republican investigations into President Joe Biden's Democratic
administration, is now shifting its focus to help Democratic lawmakers make
that connection. In a memo, the group urged congressional Democrats to trace
the Trump administration's actions to people in and outside government, as well
as corporations, who may be profiting from those moves.
"Corruption is not just corruption," said the group's senior adviser, Jack
Miller. "It is costing taxpayers and costing Americans in their everyday lives."
Some Democratic lawmakers are already stressing that congressional
investigations have to be directly tied to affordability issues, while urging
restraint.
Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt., said that Democrats need to earn voters' trust, and
while investigations are an important part of the Democratic agenda, "we can't
turn this into just a vengeance tour."
"We have to be careful, cautious and judicious about that," Welch said.
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