Impeachment and Investigation Blitz Heavy on Democrats’ Minds in Next Congress

Democratic Congressman Robert Garcia — the presumptive House Oversight chairman after Democrats swept the midterms on Tuesday — has two words of advice for top Republicans: “Lawyer up.”After the drubbing Republicans suffered in the midterms, with Democrats taking control of the House and Senate, top party members are signaling an aggressive oversight agenda that could begin with an impeachment vote against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and expand into sprawling investigations of President Trump’s family, Cabinet, and personal wealth.House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, the favorite to become Speaker of the House, has told campaign crowds that if his party won the majority, “one of the first things that we do is to run Pete Hegseth out of town.” The president is reportedly asking advisers whether Mr. Hegseth should stay in his job following Republicans’ catastrophic losses, according to CBS News. For his part, Mr. Trump said he wasn’t worried about Democrats starting impeachment proceedings against him. “Not even a little bit. I think it would destroy the Democrat Party if they did that. Impeachment for no reason. What, for having a successful country? Our country is more successful now than at any time in its history,” he told reporters at a White House event touting the ballroom.Mr. Hegseth isn’t the only Cabinet official facing scrutiny. Lawmakers have already filed impeachment resolutions against Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Education Secretary Linda McMahon. Representative Haley Stevens wrote in her resolution that Mr. Kennedy “has imperiled the health and safety of the American people, eroded public confidence in the nation’s public health institutions, and stalled decades of scientific and medical progress.” Beyond Mr. Hegseth and the Cabinet, Democrats are training their sights on Mr. Trump’s finances, his family’s business dealings, and what critics call his “vanity projects.” Mr. Trump’s net worth has grown by an estimated $2.7 billion during his second term, driven largely by cryptocurrency ventures including World Liberty Financial, which generated roughly $515 million in token sales in 2025. Mr. Garcia has published a running tracker of the Trump family’s profits and told the Washington Post, “There’s so much corruption and grift that it’s going to take the entire House on the Democratic side to do investigations appropriately.” Mr. Garcia and Senator Elizabeth Warren have also previewed plans to probe Mr. Trump’s stock trades.Mr. Trump’s demolition of the White House East Wing to build a 90,000-square-foot ballroom — funded partly by donors with business before the government — along with his planned triumphal arch near Arlington National Cemetery and his renovation of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool are also expected targets. Representative Jared Huffman has said he plans to examine whether Mr. Trump followed required approval processes and whether ballroom donors received favorable treatment.Elon Musk and Mr. Trump’s extended family are in the crosshairs as well. Democrats have raised questions about Mr. Musk’s influence over Starlink access in Ukraine and possible conflicts of interest stemming from his former role leading the Department of Government Efficiency. Mr. Musk has said he’s ready for any effort to complicate his life. “Live by the sword, die by the sword. Those who pick fights with me should understand that I will find out who is really pulling the strings and come for them, not just their puppets,” he wrote on X.Meanwhile, the role of Mr. Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, as a Middle East envoy while running his private equity firm, Affinity Partners — which has drawn investment from Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar — has prompted Mr. Garcia to send letters requesting information. “Jared Kushner raising billions from Middle Eastern governments for his private equity firm, pocketing tens of millions in fees each year, while serving as Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy raises serious concerns about his potential conflicts of interest,” Mr. Garcia said in March. Representative Jamie Raskin has separately opened an inquiry into Mr. Trump Jr.’s role in 1789 Capital Management, scrutinizing whether companies it backed benefited from favorable government decisions. Mr. Trump Jr.’s advisory ties to the prediction-market industry and broader business profits are also expected to draw attention, along with allegations that former ambassador Kimberly Guilfoyle sought money from a presidential donor in exchange for administration access.Immigration enforcement is another flashpoint. Democrats on Oversight and Homeland Security plan joint investigations into Immigration and Customs Enforcement conduct, including the killings of protesters Renee Good and Alex Pretti by immigration agents in Minneapolis.Democrats have not forgotten about the Jeffrey Epstein files either. Democrats are seeking Attorney General Todd Blanche’s testimony and wish to probe Ghislaine Maxwell’s prison transfer along with Epstein’s financial network.Mr. Garcia has made clear the groundwork has already been laid. “We’re not starting from scratch here,” he told Punchbowl News. “There’s an enormous amount of work that has happened that is public, and there’s an enormous amount of work that’s happened that we’ve been quietly working on for many months.”Not every Republican is convinced Mr. Trump’s team will survive intact. Days before Election Day, Senator Ted Cruz predicted on the “All-In” podcast that Mr. Trump faces “relentless impeachment” and forecast gridlock in Congress. “I believe the House will impeach Donald Trump if [the Democrats] have the House. They may impeach him multiple times,” Mr. Cruz said, adding, “I expect in the lame duck we will see an impeachment of [Defense Secretary] Pete Hegseth.”Some officials close to the president may not wait to find out. Speculation is mounting that certain administration figures may step aside rather than face sustained scrutiny, with White House chief of staff Susie Wiles viewed by some as a potential fallback should blame need to land somewhere.

Impeachment and Investigation Blitz Heavy on Democrats’ Minds in Next Congress

Impeachment and Investigation Blitz Heavy on Democrats’ Minds in Next Congress

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