‘Lawyer up’: Democrats seize Congress, plot ways to rein in Trump
asserted
Democrats → seize → Trump
Democrats’ victories give them control of Congress and new power to investigate the Trump administration, but party leaders say lowering costs will remain their top priority.
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lowering → give → costs
- President Trump has promised to veto bills he opposes while signaling openness to deals.
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he → promise → deals
Negotiations could determine whether Washington avoids gridlock.
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Washington → determine → gridlock
- California Democrats are poised for influential roles, including oversight of immigration enforcement.
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Democrats → poise → enforcement
Democrats in Congress gained the power Tuesday night to more forcefully investigate President Trump and rein in his agenda, setting up confrontations that are likely to define the final two years of his presidency.
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that → gain → presidency
As party leaders on Wednesday celebrated retaking the House and Senate, they vowed to put Trump and his administration on the defensive with subpoenas and hearings, a role that voters made clear they want them to play.
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them → celebrate → clear
But they also said the top priority would be the issue that carried them to power: making life more affordable.
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life → say → power
“We are going to work hard to drive costs down with the president or without him, period,” Sen. Chuck Schumer, who is poised to become Senate majority leader, said at a news conference.
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who → go → conference
Schumer’s fellow New Yorker and the House Democratic leader, Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, echoed those priorities on CNN: “We ran on affordability, we won decisively on affordability, and now we have a responsibility to govern on affordability.”
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we → echo → affordability
With power split between the legislative and executive branches, to what degree Washington avoids gridlock will depend on how Trump wields his veto pen and how the Democrats negotiate with him — and how they follow through on pledges to investigate what they called a corrupt administration.
“
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they → split → what
Make no mistake, whenever Trump defies the will of the American people or the law, we will launch investigations, take him to court and entangle him in legislative razor wire
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we → make → wire
,” Schumer said.
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Schumer → say → ?
Not since voters were repulsed by President Nixon after the Watergate scandal half a century ago has the popular vote swung so decisively in a single election cycle.
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vote → repulse → cycle
Trump, for his part, congratulated Democrats, but on Fox News said, “They are in control, but they’re really not in control.
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they → congratulate → control
They can send over 50 different, great bills that they’re all excited about, and I send them back with a nice stamp veto.”
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I → send → veto
Trump added that he has “friends” in the Democratic Party and is willing to make deals.
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he → add → deals
“I don’t want to be just sitting there for two years vetoing everything,” he said.
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he → want → everything
Schumer argued that the Democrats’ decisive victories show the president’s weakness and give them legislative leverage, and he warned Republicans against resisting their agenda.
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he → argue → agenda
“If they continue to embrace Trump, they are going to be following him right over the cliff, as this election has shown, and it will get even worse for them,” he said.
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he → continue → them
After four years out of power, House Democrats plan to carry out plans they have spent months mapping out — investigating the Trump family’s business dealings, allegedly corrupt deals by administration officials and suspected abuses by federal immigration agents.
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they → plan → agents
In a sign of what is to come, Rep. Robert Garcia of Long Beach, the top Democrat on the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, wrote on X: “LAWYER UP.”
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Garcia → come → X
Reflecting on the losses, Trump largely put the onus on the candidates, some of whom he said he only endorsed for the good of the party.
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he → reflect → party
Democrats also intend to summon top Cabinet officials to testify on many hot-button issues, such as the war in Iran.
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Democrats → intend → Iran
They could also could bring oil, insurance, pharmaceutical and other industries under congressional scrutiny.
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They → bring → scrutiny
That oversight tactic could help Democrats push on lowering costs regardless of whether they can get Trump to sign legislation.
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Trump → help → legislation
In the Senate, where Republicans held a 53-to-47 majority going into Tuesday, Democrats have won 54 seats to Republicans’ 44 as of Wednesday, according to Associated Press projections.
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Democrats → hold → projections
In the House, Republicans entered the election with 218 seats to Democrats 214.
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Republicans → enter → 214
Now, Democrats have 232 seats, well past the 218 needed for a majority, and some races remain undecided.
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races → have → majority
The Senate majority hands Democrats the ability to block his judicial and other nominations — including appointments to the Supreme Court.
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majority → hand → Court
Democrats do not have the numbers, however, to reach the two-thirds majority needed to override Trump’s veto.
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Democrats → have → veto
The Democratic victory will also likely kick off a new chapter of the party’s tug-of-war over its identity.
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victory → kick → identity
A group of insurgent progressives, several of them democratic socialists who defeated establishment-backed candidates in primaries, will join a caucus whose majority includes moderates from Republican-leaning districts.
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majority → defeat → districts
The lack of federal election interference on Tuesday does not mean an end to the administration’s war on alleged voter fraud by noncitizens.
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lack → mean → noncitizens
Holding together a caucus that stretches from democratic socialists to centrists is likely to be the first big major test for Jeffries, who is poised to become speaker.
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who → hold → Jeffries
Much of that balancing act could run through California, more than any other state.
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Much → run → state
Its Democrats form the largest bloc in the new majority, and several are in line for powerful posts.
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several → form → posts
Among them is Garcia, who is in line to lead the oversight committee and vowed last month to investigate possible corruption by the Trump family and administration officials.
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who → lead → family
The committee, Garcia said, will also “focus on issues around the survivors of Jeffrey Epstein and on corporate corruption.
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Garcia → say → corruption
But our fourth major investigative area is going to be on the abuses of ICE and DHS.”
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area → go → ICE
…and 7 more, not listed.
The Aporia
