DEM OVERSIGHT 1126

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The main congressional committee responsible for oversight is the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. Other committees with oversight authority include the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs and various House committees such as Appropriations and Judiciary.

U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Wikipedia

Main Congressional Oversight Committees

House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform

Responsible for overseeing federal agencies and programs.

Conducts investigations and hearings to ensure accountability.

Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs

Oversees the Department of Homeland Security and related agencies.

Reviews policies and programs for effectiveness and efficiency.

Other Committees with Oversight Authority

These committees play a crucial role in monitoring government operations and ensuring transparency and accountability within federal agencies.

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JENNER BLOCK

Democrats Flip the Senate: Incoming Committee Chairs and Oversight Priorities

Client Alerts

November 4, 2026

By: Emily M. Loeb, Matthew Klapper, Ashley Callen, Jon Skladany, Miroslava Becerra Garcia, Jessica Bolin

Voters across the country made their voices heard at the polls on Tuesday—and did so resoundingly. In addition to taking control of the House, Democrats overcame a challenging map and won a majority in the Senate, including in some states once unthinkable. Senate Democrats’ stated priorities of investigating allegations of corruption and the causes of affordability challenges will likely take center stage. The Democratic-led Senate will also be in a position to exert leverage on President Trump’s nominees and conduct trials if the House impeaches the President or Cabinet officials.

Senate Democrats’ Oversight Agenda for the 120th Congress

Senate Democrats’ Oversight Priorities

Senate Democrats’ messaging has been less cohesive than the House’s, but early reporting shows four themes are consistent on both sides of the Capitol—oversight, costs, health care, and the Iran war. The immediate priority will be oversight. Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY), who is not up for reelection until 2028, is the expected Majority Leader and Senator Brian Schatz (D-HI) is the likely Majority Whip.

Senate Subpoena Authority and Committee Rules

Senate subpoena rules are more restrictive than the rules in the House, where most chairs can act alone and issue subpoenas unilaterally. Most Senate committees require the ranking member’s agreement or a committee vote before a subpoena is issued, though details vary by committee. Judiciary, Banking, Commerce, and Finance generally need the ranking member’s agreement or a vote, while the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee requires a majority vote. There are two important exceptions: Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs (HSGAC) and its Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (PSI), where the chair can issue a subpoena unilaterally with notice to the ranking member. These are the current rules, and each committee can change them when the new Congress begins in January.

How Senate Committee Chairs Are Chosen

Committee chairs are chosen by the majority party through a combination of seniority, party rules, and internal conference votes. Seniority, however, is historically given the most weight.

Key Senate Committees and Their Likely Leaders

Here are the most likely committee leaders, and the races to watch in the Senate:

Senate Judiciary Committee

The Judiciary Committee has broad legislative jurisdiction and is the Senate’s main forum for public debate on social and constitutional issues, as well as oversight of the Department of Justice and the courts. It oversees key activities of the executive branch and handles the first stage of confirming all federal judicial nominees.

Chair: Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) is planning to succeed retiring Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL). He has met with anticipated House Judiciary Chair, Rep. Jamie Raskin, in the months leading up to the midterm and has said the Supreme Court justices would be the first targets of their joint effort, with aggressive investigations and a stack of subpoenas already being prepared. He is known for his climate advocacy, “dark money” in elections, judicial ethics, and outside influence on the judiciary. Priorities will include DOJ and FBI oversight, immigration, antitrust and Big Tech/AI, and judicial ethics.

Ranking Member: Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) may be the top Republican on the committee. Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) is term-limited, and other senior GOP members will not be in the next Congress. Senator Lee would have to give up his Energy and Natural Resources spot to take on Judiciary, but has said being the top Republican on Judiciary would be “hard to turn down.” Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) is next in seniority after Lee but will remain a top Commerce Republican. Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) would be next in seniority but has not been reported as seeking the top Republican spot on Judiciary.

Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee

The Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee has jurisdiction over banks and financial institutions, deposit insurance, federal monetary policy including the Federal Reserve, housing, export controls, and urban development and mass transit.

Chair: Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) is expected to chair the committee and will use the gavel to continue her scrutiny of corporate America with an affordability and Trump corruption theme guiding oversight. Warren receives significant media attention as a senior Democrat who has used her influence to call out allegations of corruption under the second Trump Administration and is known in the finance industry to be a “critic of Wall Street.” She is reportedly planning bipartisan efforts to crack down on AI and housing legislation that reins in private equity’s role in the market. Other expected priorities could include bank regulation, crypto, housing finance and affordability, the CFPB, and the Federal Reserve. Former Banking Chair Sherrod Brown (D-OH), who led the committee in the 117th and 118th Congresses, has been floated as a possible challenger for the gavel. However, caucus rules resetting seniority for returning members leave Warren in the stronger position.

Ranking Member: Senator Tim Scott (R-SC), the current chair, is expected to remain the top Republican as he is well within the six-year term limit.

Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs

HSGAC is the Senate’s primary oversight committee, with jurisdiction over all government agencies and departments, DHS, immigration, trade, intergovernmental relations, and the Census.

Chair: Current ranking member Senator Gary Peters (D-MI) is retiring and Senator Maggie Hassan (D-NH) is expected to take the gavel in the next Congress. Senator Hassan has been a vocal critic of the Trump administration and is expected to prioritize investigations into fraud and abuse at DHS, government contracting, President Trump’s financial holdings, and training and vetting protocols at ICE.

Ranking Member: Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) is the current Chair and is expected to stay on as ranking member in the next congress as he has not reached a six-year term limit yet.

Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations

The Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations is HSGAC’s chief investigative subcommittee. They have some of the broadest investigative jurisdiction and subpoena authority among Senate committees.

Chair: Current ranking member Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) is expected to take the gavel in the next Congress. His priorities include corporate accountability, government transparency, and national security. In this Congress, Democrats on the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations and House Oversight hosted many shadow hearings together related to DHS and ICE, and that partnership is expected to continue in the new Congress.

Ranking Member: Senator Ron Johnson (R-WI) is the current chair and expected to take over as ranking member in the new Congress, as is still within the six-year limit set by the Republicans.

The Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee

The HELP Committee has jurisdiction over education, labor, health, and public welfare, including public health, biomedical research, wages and hours, workplace safety, and private pensions.

Chair: Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) is the expected chair of the committee and last held the gavel in the 118th Congress. During his last chairmanship, Sanders pursued high-profile hearings with corporate CEOs rather than lengthy, formal investigations. His first target was former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz and his subpoena to the Steward Health CEO was the committee’s first since 1981. Sanders is a Medicare-for-All proponent who will likely continue to target high health care costs and pharmaceutical profits. Other priorities could include HHS oversight and public health, labor and workforce policy, and pensions.

Ranking Member: There is no clear Republican frontrunner as Senator Bill Cassidy (R-LA) is not returning to Congress. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) is now the most senior Republican committee member, so she may become Ranking Member.

Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee

The Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee has jurisdiction over interstate commerce, communications, transportation, consumer products and services, science and technology policy, and oceans and weather.

Chair: Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) is poised to take the gavel, having chaired the committee in the last Democratic Senate. Cantwell has opposed the Republican AI moratorium proposal and, in October, released a six-principle AI safety framework that she plans to pursue as chair. She will likely go after the FCC, and she has previously pressed FCC Chairman Brendan Carr to testify and argued that FCC-enabled industry consolidation raises prices and cuts choice. She is also expected to keep a strong working relationship with Ranking Member Ted Cruz (R-TX), with whom she accomplished major bipartisan wins in the current Congress, including the Protect College Sports Act. Other priorities could include kids’ online safety, aviation and transportation, and consumer protection.

Ranking Member: Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) will serve as the top committee Republican. A high-profile conservative leader, Cruz is pushing a federal AI framework that could override state laws. Senator Cruz is also a potential 2028 presidential contender and could use this platform as an opportunity to test campaign messaging and further bolster his profile.

Senate Finance Committee

The Finance Committee has jurisdiction over taxation, trade and tariffs, Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and the national debt.

Chair: Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) is the likely chair and previously chaired the committee in the 117th and 118th Congresses. He has increasingly become one of the Trump Administration’s top critics and has demanded a probe of the Trump “Anti-Weaponization Fund” settlement and a DOJ directive ending audits of Trump family businesses. Wyden has said his oversight will include “schemes and loopholes” exploited by the ultrawealthy and corporations to avoid paying taxes, as well as those that have benefited from the Administration’s tax and tariff policies. He will also prioritize reinstating the wind and solar tax credits, President Trump’s deals with pharmaceutical companies, and seeking transparency around TrumpRx data.

Ranking Member: Senator Mike Crapo (R-ID) is expected to stay the most senior Republican committee member. He has chaired the committee since the 119th Congress and was its top Republican in the 117th and 118th Congresses.

Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee

The Energy and Natural Resources Committee has jurisdiction over the Energy and Interior departments and a range of issues related to energy, conservation, and public lands.

Chair: Senator Martin Heinrich (D-NM), who was previously expected to take the top Democratic spot in 2023, is the anticipated chair. He is planning an aggressive agenda targeting rising electricity demand from data centers and will likely target the industry’s environmental and water impacts. Heinrich will likely prioritize permitting reform and will continue to work with Rep. Jared Huffman on oversight efforts, such as their call for a GAO investigation into the Administration’s financing of private mining investments. He is an advocate for public lands, transmission and lower energy costs, and keeps a low media profile. Other priorities could include Interior oversight, data-center power demand, permitting reform, critical minerals, and offshore leasing and LNG.

Ranking Member: Senator Mike Lee is currently the most senior Republican member as the current chair of the Committee, but he may move to Judiciary. If so, the top Republican spot would be open. Senator John Barrasso (R-WY) would be next in line by seniority.

Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee

The Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee has jurisdiction over agriculture, crop insurance, the farm bill, farm credit, food stamps, food inspection, forestry, nutrition, rural development, and conservation.

Chair: Caucus rules reset seniority for returning members. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH), who has won the special election to serve the remaining two years of the term originally won by JD Vance and chaired Banking during the 117th and 118th Congresses, is expected to chair the committee. Outgoing Ranking Member Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) is not returning to Congress, so a top Democratic seat is open.

Ranking Member: Senator John Boozman (R-AR), the current chair, is expected to remain the top Republican.

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President Donald Trump and his administration have engaged in so much corruption, Democrats are going to have to engage in blunt force tactics in order to hold them accountable, at least according to one expert.

"I don’t think voters are just going to want hearings for hearings’ sake," reported Slate's Dahlia Lithwick on Monday. "They don’t want subpoenas and “lawyer up” for subpoenas’ and lawyer up’s sake. The purpose of oversight generally is to expose corrupt behavior so that voters can then respond to it. The corrupt behavior is known, the voters responded to it. So now, what those oversight committees need to do is go get the money back. Because what we’ve witnessed over the last two years is just a splurge of corruption and a splurge of the president and his family and his allies enriching themselves at the expense of American taxpayers unlike anything we’ve seen in U.S. history, and the American taxpayers are entitled to get that money back."

Lithwick added, "The misguided Supreme Court decision in Trump v. U.S. basically shielded the president with this bizarre form of immunity that exists nowhere in the Constitution—meaning it’s very unlikely you’re going to see something like a Jack Smith–type criminal prosecution in the future. The president’s already said he’s going to pardon everybody on the way out the door. So let’s set criminal accountability aside for a minute. What pardons and criminal immunity cannot do is they cannot protect those ill-gotten gains from unjust enrichment claims brought by a future attorney general. They cannot protect ill-gotten gains from civil asset forfeiture claims brought by a future attorney general."

The respected journalist is not alone in calling for tough tactics by the newly-empowered congressional Democrats. Robert Reich, a liberal commentator who served as former President Bill Clinton's Secretary of Labor, argued something similar for AlterNet in October.

"If Democrats regain control of Congress, they will need to focus not only on alleviating high prices but also on eliminating the causes of those high prices. It will be impossible to do the former without attacking the latter," Reich wrote.

He continued, "In addition to ending Trump’s war and his arbitrary tariffs, they must reform campaign financing, and help reduce the influence of big money in politics. One method would be to match public financing with small-dollar donations. They’ll also need to resurrect the systems of accountability Trump has dismantled —the independent civil service, independent inspectors general, the Office of Government Ethics, and the Federal Election Commission."

Reich went on, "Under Trump and his Republican enablers, the richest Americans and biggest corporations have made out like bandits. Average working Americans are paying dearly for what the bandits have stolen. The grift and the graft must end."

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context

Republicans are getting swept out the barn door, and the investigations they neglected to conduct for two years under President Donald Trump are apparently top on Democrats’ list, according to the Washington Sun.

“Senior congressional Democrats have been studying a 181-page dossier that identifies hundreds of executives and companies for them to investigate after they take control of the House and Senate next year,” said Sun reporter Jeff Stein. “The document, drafted by the think tank Groundwork Collaborative and reviewed by The Washington Sun, argues that the party should respond to the results of the election by aggressively probing large corporations, including the biggest tech giants, artificial intelligence labs, natural gas firms, private prisons and nursing home operators, among dozens of others.”

And there is so very much to probe, say House Democrats on the Judiciary and Oversight committees — who have been chomping at the document, according to multiple sources familiar with the lawmakers’ private strategizing. Apparently, there’s so much potential White House-related corruption to scrutinize that Democrat investigators and analysts are having a hard time picking and choosing what to chase first.

Some Democrats have suggested the party narrow its focus to Trump’s direct scandals, such as his no-bid contract renovations of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool and the dismantling of the Kennedy Center, reports the Sun. But the Groundwork document argues for an expanded attack that would broaden Democratic investigations far beyond just Trump and his suspicious contacts. Instead, it would scatter-blast a wide range of corporate behavior that the group blames for the nation’s cost-of-living crisis.

“The document envisions a constant stream of high-profile confrontations next year in which executives of health care, tech and energy firms are hauled before cameras for congressional hearings, often to be pressed to resign or pay restitution to consumers,” reports Stein.

“Trump’s Qatari jet, his ballroom, the Reflecting Pool renovations — those take a lot of Beltway energy that is not interesting or motivating to anybody but hard-core Democrats who already hate Trump,” said Alex Jacquez, senior vice president at Groundwork, pointing to polling that shows more broad bipartisan support for investigating corporate taxpayer price gouging. “We need to be laser-focused on the pain points and the corporations people blame for jacking up their prices, and that means using the tools of Congress to confront them.”

Meanwhile, centrist Democrats like Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), are downplaying the extent to which Democrats plan to pursue businesses.

“We’re not targeting particular corporations,” Raskin said. “We’re targeting systems and networks of corruption, and to the extent corporations are involved, they are subject to the oversight project of Congress and our subpoena authority like everyone else.”

But former staffers for Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) are spearheading the Groundwork document. And the incoming Democratic Congress will have Sanders as the head of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. Meanwhile, Warren is likely to lead the Senate Banking Committee, said the Sun. Additionally, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) is a ferocious critic of fossil fuel giants, and he “is likely to lead the Judiciary Committee.”

“Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), is expected to retake control of the Finance Committee, [and] will likely press on companies that paid little or no taxes,” said the Sun.

“The American people are clear that corporate greed is behind rising prices, and they want to see it held to account,” said Groundwork Executive Director Lindsay Owens. “We’re talking resignations of major CEOs, hauling people in, material restitution. Economic populism is ascendant.”

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Even before the election was called on Tuesday night, the White House was already making quiet preparations for the investigations that Democratic lawmakers have vowed to launch into the Trump administration and its dealings, four current and former administration officials told NBC News.

The counsel’s office has been adding staff and putting in place protocols for the inquiries it anticipates from the Democrats’ congressional committees, a White House official said even prior to the results coming in.

Three former Trump officials told the outlet that White House aides, both past and present, have begun to hire lawyers.

An administration official and another person in the know say some ex-officials are turning down chances to go back to the White House for fear of being caught up in the oversight the Democrats are after. The more junior members of the White House staff are not as concerned as the senior aides; one former official put it that Congress may have “bigger fish to fry.”

A congressional investigation could have serious consequences. Hence the reluctance of some former Trump officials to return to the White House, according to an administration official and a person familiar with the matter.

With their midterm victories in the House and Senate, the Democrats have the ability to investigate a Trump administration that has, for the most part, been left alone by the Republican Congress. When they assume the majority in January, they will be able to put through subpoenas and set up investigative hearings to get their answers.

Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif., the incoming head of the House Oversight Committee, had only two words for a statement once the House majority was secured: “Lawyer up.”

He was more detailed at a news conference in Huntington Beach, California, on Wednesday.

“The reality is there’s so much corruption that we have to also really focus on a few key things,” said Garcia. He identified four areas his committee will be looking at come January: Trump family business; corporate corruption; the late Jeffrey Epstein and those alleged to have conspired with him; and the dealings of former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem along with a special government employee of the department, Corey Lewandowski.

Then there is the question of whether the House Democrats will move to impeach Trump as they did twice in his first term, though the Senate let him off the hook both times.

There is no consensus among them yet on a third impeachment. Should the House vote to impeach, 67 senators would be required for a conviction. Once the final count is in, the Democrats are not expected to have more than 56 seats in the Senate despite their new majority.

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Russell Vought, President Donald Trump's Director of the Office of Management and Budget and architect of his Project 2025 agenda, has been one of the most powerful people in Washington since the Republican started his second term. Yet according to a new report, Vought is about to find his job in danger.

"Congressional Democrats obviously have lots of things on their to-do list for next year, starting with cost-of-living issues and cracking down on corruption," wrote The Bulwark's Catherine Ramnpell on Thursday. "But there’s another key priority that has gotten less attention but is no less important: restoring the constitutional separation of powers so that Congress actually controls the power of the purse again."

She added, "Or to put it in more colorful terms: Congress is about to reclaim its cojones, and then go after the low-profile cabinet member who sliced them off in the first place."

After breaking down the details of how Vought has stymied Congress and allegedly behaved illegally, Rampell added, "Once back in the majority, Democratic lawmakers have some tools at their disposal to reclaim the power of the purse. Or at the very least, make it harder for Trump and Vought to keep violating the Constitution."

She continued, "A lot of the tools involve more careful writing of appropriations bills, and taking away any plausible claim Trump has for exercising discretion in spending decisions. For example, lawmakers could be more specific in how they lay out the criteria for awards, so Trump has no effective way to favor friends and disfavor perceived enemies (e.g., by specifying that any state that has had landfall of a storm blowing with hurricane-force winds must be treated as eligible for Stafford Act funding, thereby preventing Trump from withholding those funds from blue states). Congress could also make it easier for private parties to bring a lawsuit when funding gets illegally frozen."

Rampell added, "That’ll help prevent future illegal impoundments. But what about damage already done? Democrats could start by subpoenaing documentation of all the ways Vought has helped the administration break the law."

In August, economist Dr. Robert J. Shapiro — who advised President Bill Clinton during his balanced budgets and four surpluses — told AlterNet that the current $40 trillion deficit is largely Trump's fault.

"Deficits equal to six or seven percent of GDP, which is unprecedented in the postwar era," Shapiro told AlterNet at the time. "It's a real outlier. And that's driven entirely by his tax changes, which carry enormous budgetary costs, plus a wholesale, large-scale increase in defense spending. So how much of this is Trump? A majority of it — not all of it, but a majority."

On Thursday Shapiro told AlterNet that the deficits have also compounded the economic problems facing ordinary Americans, the same ones that played a large role in them turning against Republicans during the midterm elections on Tuesday.

"The debt does have effects that have exacerbated the economic squeeze on people," Shapiro told AlterNet. "Most clearly, financing the debt absorbs so much available savings that other forms of credit, like mortgages and credit card debt, become more expensive. It's supply and demand. There's less savings left over, because when you have a $40 trillion debt, it's not simply that you have to finance an additional $2 trillion each year, because that's the annual deficit now: $2 trillion. In addition, $10 trillion each year comes up for refinancing. That is, the Treasury securities mature, and so you have to float new Treasury securities to refinance the debt that has now matured. You buy a 10-year bond, or you buy a five-year note. Five years later, it matures. You've got to pay it off, and in order to pay it off, you've got to borrow the money."

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With the Democratic majority takeover in the Senate and House, attention will quickly move to what this majority can do about the central issue of high prices, especially while a lame-duck Donald Trump and his veto pen remain in the White House.

Apart from investigations and hearings toward “accountability,” opposition demands for “change” will require affirmative acts to make them happen.

Democratic leaders and candidates promised a “relentless” focus on lowering household expenses, targeting key areas such as housing, groceries, energy, and health care.

I’m sure we will see any number of bills proposed, even quickly, to restore public health care supports cut by Republicans and discussion about a raise in federal minimum wage or for tax credits for a variety of social services, as well as legislative demands to back off from Trump’s global tariffs or to end or defund the war with Iran.

Whether they can pass both House and Senate with veto-proof margins is questionable during the lame-duck, end-of-year congressional session or even in January, but we can expect a lot of campaign-type talk about the effort, though chastened Republicans in both houses of Congress now can may see survival in supporting votes to overturn any veto.

Trump, meanwhile, is sending mixed signals, saying both that he will work with Democrats, and, of course, planning to double-down on all his policies, including conflict with Iran and the resulting high fuel prices, without so much as a nod to the voters or newly elected legislators.

There are a million questions about whether there will be measurable, practical changes anytime soon in high prices. Among them are whether even the best well-meaning and unified Democratic majority in the House can affect gas prices, mortgage rates, or the inflationary trends that Team Trump has built. The Senate flip means a stop to Trump appointments in agencies, the military and judgeships.

Estimates from researchers are that gas prices alone are costing U.S. households an average $1,100 a year and tariffs on consumer goods another $2,000 annually. The cost of Obamacare/Affordable Care Act health coverage just surfaced with an average 13% increase per month. Home heating oil is up substantially, and supermarket and airfare prices increases look to be relatively permanent. Formally, inflation figures are outpacing wage adjustments. Some of the delayed financial impacts of Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill and tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations are just beginning to hit home.

Biggest Obstacles

Obviously, the biggest obstacle to new, additional spending on government services or supports for health care, SNAP food benefits, student loan forgiveness or childcare tax credits is that the money must come from somewhere else. Through DOGE, budget and administrative cuts, Team Trump has simply taken money from social services to give it to Homeland Security or the military or reduced the amount of tax coming in from corporations and billionaires.

That means any new legislative effort to add a service or restore fired federal workers will require either another vote on tax codes or reassignment of monies, say, from ICE, which now is receiving more money than the Pentagon to deport migrants with tactics that have angered a majority of voters.

All of it will be contentious and likely involve political ugliness and name-calling. All of it will involve presidential vetoes. The chances that Trump will reconsider his policies considering election results about Trust in Government are zero.

When the economy reflects bad news, Trump still blames his predecessor, two years and another election into his presidency. Even price skeptics note that supply lines, transportation, trade gaps turned almost war-like, and Trump intransience will make short-term attempts to provide practical declines in fuel, food and shelter prices hard to come by.

U.S. News has suggested that we will see more actions more “symbolic” or politically helpful than practical. While public support for health care for 20 million losing access and for many millions more who will face big price increases will be a focus for an incoming Congress, Trump is likely to veto any such legislation. It requires 75 percent of each house to overcome a veto. Any effort to kill tariffs must overcome opposition from domestic industries that benefit from having their foreign competition be more expensive and from some labor unions. And changing fuel prices even with a vote to end armed conflict is no guarantee on what happens to world oil prices or access through the Strait of Hormuz.

Full Agenda

Just as clear, the new Congress will have competing strains within the new majority. What brought the big tent together was opposition to Trump’s personal behaviors about corruption and self-glorification as well as his anti-populist policies.

The political makeup of the new Democratic majority covers a wide range of proposed solutions for each contentious Trump policy.

From the get-go, the incoming group is split among efforts to hold Trump accountable for his administration’s various acts – from the firing of generals to building of Trump memorials to excesses of mass deportation as well as going to war. The prospect that investigations and public hearings will take an enormous amount of time away from practical legislating is real.

Plus, there is the open question about just how fierce an uncontrolled, cornered and angry Trump will become towards the institutions of democracy and American traditions. Trump’s refusal to bow to court orders, his efforts to neutralize the power of Congress, the insistence on power-mad abuse of government agencies to promote himself look at this moment to get worse rather than better.

We need to hold the new management to its promises to work for “affordability” with the full understanding that for a variety of cirumstances may not prove an easy task to fulfill.

Terry H. Schwadron retired as a senior editor at The New York Times, Deputy Managing Editor at The Los Angeles Times and leadership jobs at The Providence (RI) Journal-Bulletin. He was part of a Pulitzer Gold Medal team in Los Angeles, and his team part of several Pulitzers in New York.

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HISTORY

Oversight is coming for the Trump administration.

That’s been the message of congressional Democrats throughout the closing days of the 2026 midterm campaign. Now that the party’s candidates have reportedly won control of the House of Representatives, that campaign promise is likely to be carried out. Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin told The New York Times in late October that among the potential oversight targets were pardons granted by President Donald Trump, possible corruption in government contracting and the Trump family’s cryptocurrency deals.

Routine congressional oversight hearings usually don’t make headlines.

That changed during the second Trump administration.

When Attorney General Pam Bondi appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Oct. 7, 2025, what took place was a contentious, highly partisan, made-for-TV-and-social-media confrontation.

Bondi refused to answer many questions from Democrats, instead launching personal attacks against these members of the U.S. Senate.

The episode captures a basic tension in congressional oversight: Congress can demand answers, but getting them often depends on the cooperation of the branch it is investigating.

That tension is about to sharpen when Democrats control the oversight process. Their hearings will likely be anything but routine.

From our perspective as political scientists who study the U.S. Congress, congressional oversight has played an important role in American democracy. Here’s a brief history.

Inquisitory powers

In simple terms, oversight is the ability of Congress to ensure that the laws it passes are faithfully executed. This generally means asking questions, demanding information, convening hearings and holding the executive branch accountable for its actions.

Oversight isn’t specifically mentioned in the Constitution. Article 1, Section 8, which lists the powers of Congress, includes the power “to make all laws which shall be necessary and proper,” without identifying an oversight role. Once laws are enacted, Article 2, Section 3, states that the president “shall take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed.”

However, the framers viewed congressional oversight as a key component of legislative authority. They wanted presidents to take Congress seriously and structured the Constitution to ensure that the executive would be accountable to the legislature.

As James Madison urged in Federalist 51, the separate branches of government should have the power to keep each other from becoming too powerful. “Ambition must be made to counteract ambition,” Madison wrote.

The framers drew from the examples of the British Parliament and Colonial legislatures. In 1621, Sir Francis Bacon was charged with corruption and impeached as Lord High Chancellor after an investigation by a committee of the British Parliament. And in 1768, the Massachusetts Assembly conducted an investigation of Gov. Francis Bernard that led to a formal request to the King of England for his removal.

At the Federal Convention in 1787 that produced the Constitution, Delegate George Mason noted that members of Congress possessed “inquisitory powers” and “must meet frequently to inspect the Conduct of public officials.” Even though this idea was never written down, it was a habit of self-government that early Congresses put into practice.

Early oversight hearings

Congressional oversight began almost as soon as the first Congress met. In 1790, Robert Morris, the superintendent of finances during the Continental Congress and a financier of the American Revolution, asked Congress to investigate his handling of the country’s finances and was exonerated of any wrongdoing.

During this period, congressional investigations were often referred to select committees – bodies created to perform special functions. These panels had the power to issue subpoenas and hold individuals in contempt. Since there was no official record of debates and proceedings, the public relied on newspaper accounts to learn about what had happened.

In March 1792, congressional oversight exposed businessman William Duer, who signed contracts with the War Department but failed to furnish the needed military supplies. This shortfall contributed to a stunning U.S. military defeat against a confederation of Native American tribes in the Northwest Territory.

Congress eventually removed the quartermaster general from his role for mismanaging the contracts.

Throughout the 19th century, Congress continued to quietly exercise this power.

Hearings from December 1861 to May 1865 on the conduct of the U.S. Civil War produced a detailed record of the war, exposed military wrongdoing and condemned slavery. In 1871, the Senate created a select committee to investigate Ku Klux Klan violence during Reconstruction.

Investigating corruption and criminal acts

Congress started to use its oversight power more aggressively in the 1920s with the Senate Committee on Public Land and Surveys’ high-profile investigations into the Teapot Dome scandal.

Hearings revealed that Interior Secretary Albert Bacon Fall had secretly leased federal oil reserves in Wyoming to two private corporations and had received personal loans and gifts from the companies in return.

The investigation found clear evidence of corruption. Fall was indicted and became the first U.S. Cabinet member to be convicted of a felony.

The U.S. Supreme Court helped to shape the legal foundation of congressional oversight. In McGrain v. Daugherty, decided in 1927, the court held that congressional committees could issue subpoenas, force witnesses to testify and hold them in contempt if they fail to appear. Two years later, in Sinclair v. United States, the court ruled that witnesses who lied to Congress could be charged with perjury.

These cases granted the judicial branch’s sanction to what had long been an implied legislative power, cementing the constitutionality of congressional oversight.

Oversight highs and lows

The modern era of congressional oversight has produced some very important reforms – and some truly regrettable spectacles.

The most important example of bipartisan congressional oversight came in response to reporting by The Washington Post’s Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward. The two journalists wrote about the 1972 burgling of Democratic National Committee offices in Washington, D.C.’s Watergate Hotel and subsequent cover-up efforts by the Nixon administration – and President Richard Nixon himself.

On Feb. 7, 1973, the U.S. Senate voted 77-0 to establish a Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities, which brought together Democrats and Republicans to investigate what came to be known as the “Watergate scandal.” The committee’s work spurred action in Congress to impeach Nixon, leading to Nixon’s resignation in 1974 and to the enactment of legal reforms to provide an institutional check on presidential power.

Another high point for congressional oversight came after the 9/11 terrorist attacks in 2001. Seeking to learn how the deadliest terrorist strike on American soil had occurred, Democratic Sen. Bob Graham and Republican Rep. Porter Goss, who chaired the Senate and House Intelligence committees, formed a joint committee to investigate intelligence failures before and after the attacks.

This inquiry produced several important recommendations that were ultimately adopted, including the creation of a director of national intelligence and a Department of Homeland Security, as well as better information sharing among law enforcement agencies.

Congress’ oversight can extend beyond the executive branch when the actions of private actors raise questions about existing laws or spur the need for new ones. Investigations into medical device safety and Enron’s 2001 collapse examined malfeasance in the private sphere that existing regulations failed to prevent.

However, the power to expose corruption can also be used as a tool to score partisan points and generate outrage, rather than holding the executive branch accountable for actual malfeasance. Notably, in the 1950s, Wisconsin Sen. Joseph McCarthy turned oversight into inquisition and used the power of media to amplify his accusations of communist influence within the federal government.

Democracy needs oversight

As we see it, the problem with allowing oversight to become political theater is that it distracts Congress from quieter and more meaningful oversight work. Slow, procedural work isn’t likely to go viral, but it helps keep government accountable. The task of a deliberate legislative body is to reconcile those very different impulses.

Congressional oversight has strengthened the democratic system at many points. But it can also be stymied by an uncooperative executive branch.

After the 2018 midterm elections put Democrats in charge of the House of Representatives, their many attempts to exercise oversight were rejected by the first Trump administration, which refused to send officials to testify at hearings, failed to turn over documents and ignored subpoenas.

Will the next two years of divided government look the same?

This is an updated version of a story originally published on Nov. 6, 2025.

Drew Kurlowski, Associate Professor of Political Science, Coastal Carolina University and Gibbs Knotts, Professor of Political Science, Coastal Carolina University

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AN 11 26 MEH

Democrats seeking to hold President Donald Trump accountable for what they view as his political misconduct and failures are considering another impeachment push, but say they have a different strategy this time than what they did in 2019 and 2021. This time around, they are planning on following the money and investigating his family’s financial ties as part of their strategy.

Taking cues from their midterm election victories, which were fueled in large part by Americans’ economic frustrations, Democrats see an opportunity to connect their investigations to their promise to tackle the rising cost of living. By scrutinizing the Trump family’s financial dealings and what they view as its pursuit of personal wealth at Americans’ expense, Democrats believe they can expose a political system rigged in favor of the wealthy, arguing that accountability and economic fairness are synonymous.

“One thing that’s important for people to recognize is that accountability and taking on corruption will make the lives of American families more affordable,” Representative Robert Garcia, the incoming chair of the House Oversight Committee, told The Atlantic’s Isaac Stanley-Becker. “It will stop the Trumps from stealing from you and giving to themselves.”

The report notes that during the first half of Trump’s second term, Republicans have largely surrendered their legislative authority to Trump as corruption and bribery have been ongoing. Meanwhile, as Americans face record-high gas prices, stagnant wages, and rising grocery costs, Trump’s family has reportedly grown wealthier. The first family has amassed billions in cryptocurrency wealth, while Trump has alienated some supporters through politically connected pardons and costly White House renovations and design proposals.

With Democrats set to take control of Congress in January 2027, lawmakers will have new investigative powers. A central priority will be uncovering the full extent of the Trump family’s wealth and exposing potential abuses.

There are specific barriers regardless, primarily the Supreme Court, which has granted Trump executive authority and criminal immunity that many deem unconstitutional. The success will depend on how Democrats execute their strategy.

“I am not interested in retribution,” James Talarico told Fox News following his historic Democratic win, as noted by Stanley-Becker. “The people of Texas did not elect me last night for retribution.” Senator Bernie Sanders warns: “We cannot spend all of our time investigating Trump.” But there are others who want Trump held accountable to the highest standard.

Representative Robert Garcia famously told President Trump and his administration to "lawyer up” on social media. He doubled down on his warning to Trump to Stanley-Becker. Garcia told Stanley-Becker that the committee’s investigation will reach further than people might expect, potentially including anyone with information about the Trump family’s dealings, even those who don’t share Trump's name. Democrats will have to come to a firm middle ground on execution tactics to get their desired results.

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