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Democrats plan House oversight push as White House warns investigators of criminal risk

A White House letter and a Justice Department warning to Senator Richard Blumenthal put the incoming Democratic majority's planned probes on a collision course with the administration.

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Washington · United States

Warnings and oversight plans

In a letter to Robert Garcia, the California Democrat who will lead the House Oversight Committee, White House counsel Will Scharf warned that some of the corruption probes Democrats have foreshadowed could be deemed criminal. The letter echoed a call from Trump to "jail" congressional investigators, an idea senior aides have also floated. Scharf also warned that aggressive inquiries could themselves amount to criminal conduct.

The Justice Department took the same line with Senator Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat from Connecticut. It told him that his inquiries into the donors behind Trump's White House ballroom could violate criminal laws and could put his staff and associates at risk. Blumenthal called the threat baseless, and the same U.S. attorney later sent a similar letter to Senator Elissa Slotkin of Michigan.

Garcia takes up the committee in January and has said he wants to expose corruption involving Trump, his family, his friends and the administration. On election night he posted "Lawyer up" on X. Four senior officials have left the Justice Department since the 3 November midterms. Jamie Raskin, who will chair the House Judiciary Committee, told the Financial Times this week that Democrats will not pursue impeachment of Trump himself.

Johnson's exit and the seat count

House Speaker Mike Johnson, in his first interview since the midterms, told Fox News on 14 November that the party's losses led him to step back from leadership. He said he reached the decision quickly after election night, and he had already told staff in early November that he would not run again for the top House post.

“Leaders have to take responsibility when things go wrong”

Mike Johnson, republican House speaker

Johnson said he will stay in the fight from a different role. House Republicans chose Jim Jordan of Ohio on 10 November to succeed him, and Republicans will be the minority in both chambers. Trump, by contrast, has deflected blame. At least ten Republican Senate candidates lost in states he visited during the final weeks of the campaign, a figure that could reach 11 if Senator Dan Sullivan of Alaska loses, a race not yet called.

As counted on 14 November, Democrats will have at least 55 Senate seats from 3 January, against 44 for Republicans. In the House, Democrats will have at least 256 seats and Republicans at least 169. Eight House races were still being counted, and the last two seats will be decided in runoffs next month in Louisiana.

Seat counts as reported on 14 Novemberseats

Data from the article text

Immigration and the federal workforce

Immigration sits near the top of the Democratic agenda. Rep. Henry Cuellar, who will lead the House appropriations panel overseeing Homeland Security, said Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin had opened the door to negotiations and that he had already spoken with agency officials. He asked whether Stephen Miller, the new White House chief of staff and an immigration hard-liner, would pull Mullin back. Trump told "60 Minutes" in an interview taped 6 November and aired 8 November that his policies were "too tough" and that he is open to a path to legal status for workers who have lived in the country illegally for 10 to 15 years.

The New York Times reports that Trump has shed 17 percent of federal employees since starting his second term, and current and former workers are now looking to Democrats for relief. Democrats face competing priorities such as affordability, health care and the war in Iran, so reversing the cuts may take time. Representative James Walkinshaw, a Democrat from Northern Virginia, described the approach as a long game.

“But now we have some constitutional and legal authority to push back”

James Walkinshaw, northern Virginia Democratic representative focused on federal workers

Walkinshaw said he expects the administration to keep attacking the federal workforce.

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The US under Trump: second term

What changed since this entry:

15/11White House and Justice Department warn Democrats of criminal risk over planned House probes
15/11Zelensky says US framework includes Israel-style bilateral guarantees and a prisoner exchange came out of Abu Dhabi
15/11Bloomberg says Pentagon troop-cut plan, about 5,000 of roughly 80,000, is still under review

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