Hochul Says She Is 'Excited' About a Democratic Congress Tying Up Trump With Investigations, Hearings and Subpoenas; State GOP Says She Said the 'Quiet Part Out Loud'
In a Politico interview, the New York governor said a Democratic House and Senate would mean 'investigations, hearings, subpoenas.' The White House called it a 'witch hunt.' She also asked Trump for help building nuclear plants.
A sitting Democratic governor has said out loud what Republicans have been warning about, Fox News reports.
The remarks. Gov. Kathy Hochul, D-N.Y., told Politico on Tuesday she was "excited" at the prospect of Democrats winning Congress. She spoke about retaking the House and, "on top of it," the Senate: "So, I'm excited about this. When you talk about Trump's next two years with that Democratic House and Senate, hey, guess what? There's investigations, there's hearings, there's subpoenas, there's questioning." She said Democrats would put "the media spotlight on everything he's doing" and try to stop his "flood the zone" strategy.
The goal, in her words. Hochul said oversight committees and commissions would "tie things up," and added that she does not want to stop "the workings of the good part of government" but to "stop the corruption, stop the abuse." She said that "a fraction of them would have been national scandals for years" under earlier presidents. Fox does not report what specific conduct she was referring to.
The olive branch. Hochul also said she hopes to work with the president in his last two years. "I want to build nuclear," she said, and she said she has a proposal before him to "unlock this and do it in half the time and much less cost." She called nuclear a way for Trump to "make a legacy in his home state."
The response. White House spokesperson Lauren Bis told Fox News Digital that Democrats have no agenda beyond "their decade-long witch hunt against President Trump," and said the administration will keep working to secure the border, restore law and order and put money back in people's pockets. David Laska, communications director for the New York Republican State Committee, said Hochul "said the quiet part out loud." He said she should worry more about New York leading the nation in outmigration than about Trump.
The race. Hochul is up for re-election next week against Republican nominee Bruce Blakeman, the Nassau County executive.
Note for readers: these quotes come from Fox's account of a Politico interview, and we have not read the full interview. Hochul's own framing is that she wants to stop what she calls corruption. The White House and state GOP statements are partisan responses.