Trump and his Justice Department stand defiant as Democrats ready an
investigative blitz
[November 09, 2026]
By MIKE CATALINI
President Donald Trump and his Department of Justice are taking a
combative stance toward Democrats after their election victories in the
midterms, signaling intense conflict to come as lawmakers prepare
aggressive investigations into the executive branch next year.
Trump set the tone, declaring on social media that investigative
requests already made by Democrats are “extortion at the highest level,
and they should be held accountable.” Attorney General Todd Blanche
echoed the Republican president and said criminal investigations of
Democrats are possible.
“They are not allowed to just go around threatening existing members of
the administration, to go around threatening companies, and that’s what
President Trump is extremely worried about and he should be,” Blanche
said as he and congressional Democrats appeared on the Sunday news shows
to discuss the repercussions from last week's elections.
Rep. Robert Garcia, who is poised to chair the powerful House Oversight
Committee in the next Congress, is preparing investigations into what he
calls the “Trump crime family.” He said Democrats are not going to be
intimidated.
“The days of us not fighting back are over,” said Garcia, D-Calif.
The early rhetoric sets up a showdown ahead that will likely define
Trump’s remaining two years in office and test the power of Congress to
put a check on the White House. About 7 in 10 voters nationally say
Congress is not doing enough to provide checks and balances on the
presidency, according to The AP Voter Poll, a survey of more than
100,000 midterm voters.
Democrats have made clear that impeachment is an option.
If there are people who have been "shortchanging the American people,
screwing over the American people, or stealing from the American people,
then they need to be held accountable in a manner consistent with
Congress’ role, constitutionally,” said Democratic House leader Hakeem
Jeffries of New York.
Some Democrats are worried about overreach
But the investigative onslaught is also a source of tension for
Democrats, with many warning that delivering on their central promise to
voters — actions to lower the cost of living — must take precedence.
Some fear their resounding wins Tuesday that have given them healthy
majorities in the House and Senate will prove fleeting if conflict with
Trump defines the agenda.
Sen.-elect Adam Hamilton, the first Democrat elected to the chamber from
Kansas in 94 years, expressed skepticism about impeachment, saying his
campaign was about trying to bring people together. He said he does not
want the next two years to be spent “dividing our country further.”
“I’m not as interested in impeachment as setting up guardrails,”
Hamilton said. Still, Hamilton said he understands that some
investigations are necessary, and Democrats “have to look at what’s
happened in Washington.”
Sen. Bernie Sanders, a Vermont independent who caucuses with Democrats,
said he wants to hold Trump accountable, but warned there was only so
much time.
“We cannot spend all of our time investigating Trump," Sanders said.
"We’ve got to stand up for working-class families, make a real
difference in their lives.”
Jeffries casts doubt on working with Stephen Miller
Jeffries, who is on the cusp of becoming the nation's first Black House
speaker, was asked on election night about the prospects of working with
Trump. He said he would be ready to work with the other side of the
aisle “whenever and wherever possible to deliver real results.”
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U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth leaves after attending the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations' Defense Ministers' Meeting
in Cebu, central Philippines, Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2026, (AP
Photo/Aaron Favila, Pool)
Jeffries on Sunday criticized Trump's choice of longtime adviser
Stephen Miller to succeed Susie Wiles as his chief of staff, calling
him an “awful choice” and cast doubt on the prospect of working with
him.
“There’s not going to be an opportunity, certainly, to work with
Stephen Miller and what he represents. And we’re committed to
forcefully pushing back against the extremism that they may try to
continue to unleash on the American people,” he said.
Democrats across the ideological spectrum have been critical of the
appointment of Miller, an architect of Trump's mass deportation
machine that became an issue in the midterm elections. Nationally,
about 6 in 10 voters said the administration’s actions on
immigration enforcement had “gone too far,” according to The AP
Voter Poll.
Jeffries also said he supports a pending resolution from Rep. Thomas
Massie, R-Ky., to impeach Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. Jeffries
said Democrats would be discussing it when they return to the
Capitol this week. “Hegseth has got to go,” he said.
“I’m a hard yes on the Hegseth resolution,” Jeffries said.
Hegseth in a video dismissed the impeachment push as “all about the
politics of personal destruction.” He said it “won’t work with me."
New senators express skepticism about Schumer
At least two new incoming Democratic senators expressed some
reservations Sunday about Democratic leader Chuck Schumer, who’s
expected to be reelected to his post after leading his party back to
the majority.
Hamilton said he’s told Schumer, who is currently running unopposed,
that he means no disrespect but that the New Yorker is a polarizing
figure in Kansas and Hamilton is aiming for someone less divisive.
“What I’d be looking for is a leader who can lead from the center,
somebody who can bring Republicans and Democrats together,” Hamilton
said. “It feels like it is a time for fresh and new ideas and
somebody who can unite us instead of dividing us.”
Hamilton said he wants to get to know the other Democratic senators
better before he makes any recommendations.
Sen.-elect Abdul El-Sayed of Michigan, whom Schumer did not back in
the Democratic primary, said he had been committed to Sen. Chris Van
Hollen, but acknowledged that the Maryland Democrat does not appear
to be running for the post.
El-Sayed said he and Schumer, who put $67 million into El-Sayed’s
general election campaign, “figured out how to work together” after
the primary.
“The question to me is, who wants to be the leader who’s going to
make sure that we deliver on the mandate that we just got?” El-Sayed
said.
Blanche was interviewed on “Fox News Sunday” and CNN's “State of the
Union.” Garcia also was on CNN, Jeffries spoke on ABC's “This Week,”
Hamilton and Sanders were on CNN and NBC, and El-Sayed appeared on
ABC.
___
Associated Press writers Mary Clare Jalonick and Lisa Mascaro in
Washington contributed to this report.
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