We knew this was coming even before the election happened. In fact, many Democrats seemed to be running on it. Now that they've taken back the House and Senate, the first order of business is lots of investigations, or as they'll likely frame it expanded oversight.
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 to see a lot more oversight. With public corruption and failing leadership as two of the top issues concerning voters, congressional Democrats have an ambitious agenda of investigations planned for their return to power in the House and Senate...
Rep. Robert Garcia, the California Democrat who is expected to become chair of the House Oversight committee, put it bluntly in a statement: "LAWYER UP."
The Democratic Party has a long list of investigative targets. According to conversations with Democratic House and Senate committee staffers, here are some areas the party is likely to prioritize in its oversight work.
So what's on their punch list? Well, Jeffrey Epstein for one.
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.
Then there are the corruption investigations focused on Trump.
In particular, Democrats 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.
They'll also be targeting ICE:
While in the minority, Democrats have publicly documented hundreds of incidents of alleged abuse and misconduct by immigration agents and will continue that work in the new term. They are expected to hold hearings on incidents of violence, which have largely gone without congressional oversight in the first two years of the president's second term.
And of course, as predicted months ago, they plan to end the Iran war.
Even before the Democrats take control, a House impeachment vote on Hegseth could come during the lame-duck session.
More war powers votes — efforts to force the president to end the conflict, some of which have attracted limited bipartisan support — are also expected.
This is really just a start. They will be sure to target Elon Musk as well. But it won't just be Elon. Democrats benefited from an anti-AI/datacenter surge. They want to keep that going into 2028:
According to interviews with more than a dozen lawmakers, aides and attorneys, Democrats plan to use their new subpoena power and agenda-setting authority to target possible corruption among members of President Donald Trump’s family, Elon Musk’s leadership of the Department of Government Efficiency and the Department of Homeland Security’s aggressive immigration enforcement tactics.
They could demand testimony from the chief executives of Big Tech on social media addiction, the dangers of artificial intelligence and the negative impacts data centers are having on local communities. They could haul in the heads of leading oil companies to answer for allegations the industry waged a decadeslong climate misinformation campaign to continue reaping massive profits.
And these are just a few items on the to-do list.
“I’d expect some pretty epic battles between the administration and Congress, as well as private sector targets that are prepared to fight back against Congress,” said Aaron Cutler, a partner at Hogan Lovells Cadwalader and former aide to former House Majority Leader Eric Cantor.
But Politco mentions that there is a risk here. You can only draw attention to so many things. A two-year focus of investigations on people who won't be on the ballot in 2028 may not be the wisest approach.
The risk, however, is that Democrats’ vast investigative ambitions backfire, sucking up oxygen that might otherwise be spent trying to legislate. Though Trump is unlikely to sign many, if any, bills Democrats send to his desk that aren’t considered “must-pass,” Democrats will still be under pressure to show they can do something, even if it’s just laying the groundwork for a legislative agenda the party can enact if they also retake the White House in 2028.
Frankly, I think Democrats are right that all the base cares about right now is revenge. Scott Galloway wants Elon Musk shot for treason and many in the base feel the same about Trump. (Most are just smart enough not to say it out loud.) So I think they'll pay no price in the short term for ramping up endless investigations that serve as confirmation to their voters that Trump is evil and they did a good thing.
There will of course be all sorts of terrible and entirely predictable consequences. Putting ICE and CBP under a microscope will eventually result in another surge at the border. Turning on Musk and big tech could result in slowing down progress. Going after oil executives and rescuing Iran from Trump may have consequences we can't immediately predict in the not too distant future. There will be a price to pay for this but right now most Democrats are only seeing the upside and most of their voters too.
Anyway, if Democrats weren't terrible at governing, Trump would never have been elected twice. They'll screw this up soon enough. They always do.
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