WASHINGTON (AP) — House Democrats are preparing a vast oversight agenda, with investigations of President Donald Trump, his family and his administration if the party sweeps control of the chamber from Republicans in the November elections.
asserted
party → prepare → elections
The undertaking is a robust as it is daunting, spanning several House committees.
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it → span → committees
With majority power comes bigger budgets and staff, and the ability to investigate, subpoena and potentially course-correct what the Democrats say are widespread corruption and abuses of power.
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Democrats → come → power
“There is a cost to the American people of the out-of-control corruption,” said Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York, who is in line to become House speaker if Democrats win control at the Capitol.
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Democrats → be → Capitol
“If folks have been stealing from the American people, shortchanging the American people or screwing over the American people,” Jeffries said, “we are going to hold the crooks accountable.”
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crooks → steal → people
Congress has enormous ability to conduct oversight of the executive branch as part of its power as a coequal branch of government, and a road map for the Democratic-run investigations has already been set by the almost daily letters lawmakers send to the administration and in amicus court filings.
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lawmakers → have → filings
Democrats are asking about the money-making by Trump and his family, whose wealth has grown dramatically since he returned to the White House in January 2025.
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he → ask → January
They are investigating the potential civil rights violations of Americans killed protesting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations and of detained immigrants being deported to faraway countries.
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They → investigate → countries
They have fought the closing of the Kennedy Center, launched investigations into private funding of the America at 250 celebrations and tracked the shuttering of federal operations, including the U.S. Agency for International Development.
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They → fight → Development
New questions emerge daily, including the Trump family’s recent acknowledgment that a weekend wedding party for the president’s son Donald Trump Jr. was partly funded by a Russian oligarch, with reportedly close ties to the Kremlin.
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party → emerge → Kremlin
Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., who is in line to become the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, characterized the issues involved as “gargantuan.”
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who → become → issues
“We need to zero in quickly on the forms of systemic corruption that have cost the public huge amounts of money,” Raskin told The Associated Press, “and where there are legislative cures available.”
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Raskin → need → Press
Trump impeachments made history then.
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impeachments → make → history
Could it happen again?
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it → happen → ?
Jeffries will almost certainly be under pressure from the far left to move more swiftly to articles of impeachment against Trump, who during his first became the first president to be twice impeached by the House.
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who → move → House
Both times, he was acquitted by the Senate.
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he → acquit → Senate
Impeaching the president a third time may not hold the currency that it once did.
uncertain
it → impeach → currency
Democrats will more likely focus their impeachment efforts on Cabinet members.
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Democrats → focus → members
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth already faces articles of impeachment from a Republican, Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, over his leadership at the Pentagon and his management of the Iran war.
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Hegseth → face → war
“We haven’t ruled anything out,” Jeffries said recently about the tools available to Congress, “and we haven’t ruled anything in.”
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we → rule → anything
The White House is likely to play hardball if confronted with investigations, and Democrats are bracing for an administration that potentially ignores subpoenas or refuses to turn over paperwork that lawmakers are demanding.
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lawmakers → play → that
The Democrats are also reaching beyond the administration into various corporate and business entities for potential wrongdoing.
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Democrats → reach → wrongdoing
‘We’ll act like the Congress,’ says one Democrat in line to lead a committee
Ranking Democratic lawmakers who are in line to lead committees if power shifts are beginning to chart the investigations they plan to tackle.
Rep. Robert Garcia of California, the top Democrat now 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 ICE operations.
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outlined → act → investigation
“We’re already doing work,” Garcia told the AP.
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Garcia → do → AP
He also mentioned the Department of Health and Human Services under Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., as well as broader allegations of corporate corruption.
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He → mention → corruption
The top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Rep. Gregory Meeks of New York, whose jurisdiction includes the State Department, said the committee plans to investigate Trump’s international dealings, including around the Iran war.
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committee → include → war
He expects the committee will also look into the administration’s Venezuela operations — from the military strikes on alleged drug boats in the Caribbean and Pacific waters to the U.S. partnership with a private company to develop and access the South American country’s oil.
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committee → expect → oil
Rep. Jared Huffman of California, the ranking Democrat at the Natural Resources Committee, which overseas the Interior Department and its National Park Service operations, has begun digging into Trump’s “vanity projects,” including the demolition of the White House’s East wing for a new ballroom and the president’s proposed arch.
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which → oversea → ballroom
Huffman and other committee members have also been eyeing the Trump family’s role in various minerals deals.
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Huffman → eye → deals
At the committee’s last session before lawmakers recessed to campaign for the midterm elections, Huffman said that if Democrats take charge, he plans to call witnesses, put them under oath and follow the evidence where it leads.
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it → recess → evidence
“When people ask what will we do,” he said he responds, “My answer is simple.
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answer → ask → what
We’ll use those tools.
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We → use → tools
We’ll act like the Congress.”
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We → act → Congress
The Aporia
