Trump's White House Has Spent Months Mapping How to Govern Without Congress if Democrats Win on Tuesday, Reuters Reports
Since April, senior aides have been lining up executive actions on tariffs, visas, housing and spending - and bracing for the investigations a Democratic Congress would bring, according to Reuters.
President Donald Trump's White House has spent months preparing for a possible Democratic takeover of Congress, developing plans to keep advancing major parts of his agenda through executive power while bracing for investigations, Reuters reported, citing a White House official and two people familiar with the plans. Senior officials including deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller and budget director Russell Vought have worked with the White House Counsel's Office since April to identify executive actions on immigration, tariffs, housing costs and federal spending that Trump could pursue without congressional approval, the three people told Reuters.
Among the actions under consideration, the White House official told Reuters, are new tariffs on imports of critical minerals and wind turbines, tighter rules on visas for international students and temporary foreign workers, and measures aimed at lowering housing and construction costs. Federal agencies have submitted proposals and legal reviews, Vought is examining which priorities can move forward using money already appropriated by Congress and wants grant-rule changes giving political appointees more say, and White House counsel Will Scharf's team is assessing what Trump can legally do on his own and how to defend it in court. Asked how comfortable Trump would be governing through executive authority under a Democratic Congress, one of the people said: 'very comfortable.'
The arithmetic explains the planning. Democrats need a net gain of four seats in each chamber to overturn Republicans' narrow 218-214 House and 53-47 Senate majorities, Reuters noted; opinion polls favor Democrats to win the House while the Senate remains too close to call. The White House pushed back publicly - spokeswoman Lauren Bis said the administration and 'commonsense Republicans' will continue to secure the borders and deliver wins - and analyst Nathan Gonzales of Inside Elections told Reuters Trump has basically ignored Congress for two years and would only continue under Democratic majorities.
One challenge cannot be sidestepped by executive action, Reuters reported: congressional investigations. Senior House Democrats have discussed hearings, subpoenas and document requests, and Trump aides have been preparing for months - briefing appointees on handling inquiries and seeking a Justice Department opinion that could let Trump invoke executive privilege over communications with private advisers. A Democratic Senate could also block judicial and executive-branch nominees, University of Tennessee professor Andrew Busch told Reuters, even as Trump's veto would still block Democratic legislation.
