Congressional Power Could Put Trump Under Subpoena

Sen. Andy Kim said voters are already weighing the harm President Donald Trump has done to them as Democrats consider using congressional power to investigate his administration. A Democratic takeover could give the party committee control and subpoena powers, putting investigations—and possibly another impeachment—at the center of the final two years of Trump’s presidency, an Associated Press report published by PBS NewsHour said.

“Trump's desire to have everyone think that he's on the ballot? Like, it's happening. Everyone is thinking about him and the harm that he has done to them directly,” Kim, D-N.J., said. He campaigned in Iowa, Georgia and Texas. Trump, meanwhile, urged voters to “pretend I'm on the ballot,” turning the midterms into a referendum on his own rule.

Who Controls the Machinery

A Democratic majority would control House committees, budgets and staff, and could issue subpoenas. Senior Democrats have outlined investigations into administration policies and personnel, as well as interactions between government officials and private companies seeking influence with the White House. The shift could change who directs the congressional apparatus; it wouldn't put that apparatus under the direct control of the people affected by its decisions.

California Rep. Robert Garcia, expected to lead the House Oversight Committee if Democrats won the House, planned to investigate immigration and detention policies. He visited an Immigration and Customs Enforcement processing center in Southern California and held a news conference to “demand accountability” for ICE's tactics. Other potential targets include the Trump family's business dealings, the administration's handling of the Jeffrey Epstein investigation and broader allegations of corporate corruption.

The White House could answer as it did during Trump's first administration: by slowing congressional requests and asserting executive privilege. A committee can demand records, but the administration can resist. That standoff leaves ordinary people watching rival centers of power contest control over information and policy.

Impeachment, Vetoes and Party Discipline

A potential House speaker, Hakeem Jeffries, would face the question of whether to pursue a third impeachment. Trump was impeached twice during his first term and acquitted by the Senate both times. Democratic lawmakers have also signaled they could target Cabinet members, including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, whom the report described as one of Trump's most loyal administration officials and a key figure in the Iran war.

“At the majority, we're going to run Pete Hegseth out of town,” Jeffries said at an October rally. Trump told a crowd in Oklahoma, “I've become very good at beating them in impeachment.” The exchange lays out the machinery plainly: lawmakers threaten removal, the president boasts about surviving it, and the Senate has the final say on impeachment.

The electoral route offers no guarantee of policy change. The Wall Street Journal reported that Democrats were seeking majorities in both chambers, with polling showing a strong chance of winning the House and a good chance in the Senate. But passing laws would be difficult because Trump promised to be “Mr. Veto.” Democrats could promote tariff relief and efforts to reduce health care costs, and scrutinize companies and agencies that conflict with their priorities. Those plans remain inside a system where the president can block legislation.

Campaign Theater, Material Costs

Trump campaigned aggressively in the final weeks, holding rallies increasingly in deeply Republican areas and staging a two-day Trump-focused Republican convention in Dallas. He led attendees in a repeat-after-me voting pledge and promised to send $5,000 to every adult if Republicans won in November. His remarks often lasted 90 minutes, covering local candidates, fuel costs, renovations to Washington and the White House, and a ballroom.

He called affordability a “hoax” and a word “made up by the Democrats,” while telling communities that rejected data centers they would become “backwards and poor.” Democrats, for their part, have pointed to tariff relief and health care costs as policy priorities. The report offers no account of direct action, mutual aid or community-led organizing; its proposed remedies run through campaigns, committees, investigations and votes. James Carville recalled his 1992 campaign line, “It's the economy, stupid.” The people paying those costs appear chiefly as a subject for politicians to invoke, not as participants directing the decisions.