'Lawyer Up': Democrats Put the Trump Administration on Notice With Subpoena Warnings as They Take Congress, Fox News Reports
Within hours of the midterm results, Democratic lawmakers posted warnings of subpoenas and investigations. Fox says Hegseth, immigration enforcement and the Epstein files are among the likely targets when the new Congress convenes in January.
Democrats did not wait for the final calls before telling the Trump administration what is coming, Fox News reports. Late Tuesday, as the results turned against Republicans, several Democratic lawmakers posted blunt warnings about subpoenas and investigations.
The posts. Rep. Robert Garcia of California, the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, wrote on X: "LAWYER UP." Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon posted one word: "Subpoenas." Rep. Delia Ramirez of Illinois listed administration names, including Noem, Miller, Homan and Bovino, and wrote "Clear your schedule." Sen. Ed Markey of Massachusetts said Democrats would need "to plant new forests for all of the subpoenas we'll be printing."
The plan. Fox says Garcia is in line to chair Oversight. He has said his panel would move quickly on investigations covering the Trump family's business dealings, immigration enforcement, alleged corporate corruption and the handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files. "We're not starting from scratch here," he told Punchbowl News before the election. Fox adds that Democrats on the Judiciary and Homeland Security committees have spent two years pressing the administration over immigration enforcement, and that Senate Democrats could open their own probes with new committee gavels.
Hegseth. Fox says War Secretary Pete Hegseth could face particular scrutiny. Democrats had already introduced articles of impeachment accusing him of offenses that include waging an unauthorized war against Iran. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said last month that "one of the first things" Democrats would do in the majority is "run Pete Hegseth out of town." Fox also reports that Rep. Thomas Massie, a Kentucky Republican, plans to force a vote on his own resolution to impeach Hegseth when Congress returns for the lame-duck session.
The limits. Under House rules, committees can delegate subpoena power to their chairs, so some Democratic chairmen could issue demands without Republican support. Fox notes that ignoring a subpoena can lead to contempt proceedings, but that forcing compliance from executive branch officials who claim privilege can mean long court fights. It points out that Steve Bannon and Peter Navarro were each convicted of contempt of Congress after defying Jan. 6 committee subpoenas, and each was sentenced to four months in prison. The Justice Department also decides whether to prosecute a contempt referral.
Related. Our earlier report covered Gov. Kathy Hochul saying she was "excited" about Democrats tying up the Trump administration in investigations.
What we could not check. We have not seen the posts ourselves; the quotes come from Fox. Fox says Garcia is "in line" to chair Oversight, not yet named to it, and we have seen no subpoena issued. The new Congress does not convene until January.