Democrats Prepare Probes as Republicans Harden Ranks: Miller to Chief of Staff, Jordan to Lead House Republicans
A week after the midterms, Washington is talking less about prices and more about investigations. Democrats are preparing a barrage of probes into the Trump administration, and Republicans are elevating their most confrontational figures to resist them, Reuters reported Thursday.
WASHINGTON - The midterms may be over, but a new round of political combat in Washington is just beginning between an emboldened Democratic-controlled Congress and a defiant White House, Reuters reported Thursday. Democrats are preparing a barrage of investigations into the Trump administration and have warned President Donald Trump's aides to "lawyer up," while Republicans are mostly elevating figures known for a more confrontational approach as they prepare to resist much tougher Democratic oversight.
Democrats are seeking probes into the Iran war, Trump's immigration agenda and his handling of spy agencies, Reuters reported, and are openly discussing another impeachment attempt against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and one into Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. The White House has warned that Democrats' investigations could venture into criminal activity, a threat lawmakers largely shrugged off, according to the report. None of the probes has produced findings; they are, at this stage, plans and warnings traded between the two parties.
On the Republican side, Trump has chosen Stephen Miller, one of the most divisive figures in his administration, as his new chief of staff. In the House, Republicans elected Jim Jordan of Ohio as their next leader, ejecting longtime party fixture Steve Scalise of Louisiana from leadership. Senate Republicans re-elected John Thune of South Dakota as their leader, though several lawmakers tried to delay the proceedings to allow a challenger to emerge; Trump has clashed with Thune and accused him of delaying elements of the White House agenda. After his re-election, Thune pledged to "be very, very active in asserting conservative priorities" when Democrats take control in January, Reuters reported.
Both parties are also gathering to argue over what the election meant. Progressives huddled at a Crooked Media-organized convention in Washington, while more moderate Democrats gather for three days in Denver from Thursday to discuss bringing their factions together ahead of the 2028 presidential election. Republicans spent part of the week at The Forum in Maryland, where retiring Texas Rep. Chip Roy told the White House political operation, in remarks Reuters carried, "With all due respect to the political operation in the White House, you messed up. You went around the country saying, 'I want more power.'" Reuters' watch list has Trump traveling to the Philippines on Nov. 16 for the ASEAN summit and meeting Chinese President Xi Jinping in Shenzhen at the APEC summit on Nov. 18-19.
