Congressional Probes Put Corporate Power Under Scrutiny

Democrats preparing to take control of Congress in January are weighing investigations of major companies that did business with the Trump administration, putting corporate power and executive authority on the incoming agenda. Potential targets include technology, cryptocurrency and prediction-market companies, along with big banks. Executives in Silicon Valley and on Wall Street are bracing for probes into some of the country’s largest corporations and their actions over the past two years.

Who Gets Investigated

A poll by Groundwork Collaborative and Hart Research found that two in three voters consider investigations of corporate greed a high priority, compared with 58% who said Congress should prioritize Trump’s personal corruption. Alex Jacquez, a senior vice president of policy, advocacy and research at Groundwork Collaborative, said focus-group participants were angry at CEOs and corporate leaders they felt had ripped them off. “A lot of people were pessimistic ... that oversight would result in anything, and so they want restitution. They want CEOs to go to jail. They want people to resign. They want prices to be lowered,” he told CNBC. “In the focus groups in particular, I was pretty shocked at how much jail time came up for CEOs.”

People who want restitution aren’t setting the committee calendars. House and Senate leaders have begun outlining legislative and investigative agendas that could include Trump, his family, cabinet officials, big banks and technology companies. A person familiar with Democrats’ oversight plans said the party intends to scrutinize businesses with administration ties while continuing committees’ traditional watchdog role over the executive branch.

Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon is expected to lead the Senate Finance Committee. A person familiar with the matter said it plans to examine JPMorgan Chase’s banking relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, the late sex offender, including decisions by Mary Callahan Erdoes, CEO of JPMorgan’s asset and wealth management division. The committee hasn’t announced the investigation, and the person spoke anonymously.

Wyden said the committee’s top priorities “will be affordability for us, accountability for them.” He said it would intensify efforts to ensure billionaires pay their fair share in taxes, address the “corporate chokehold on our nation’s health care system” and reassert congressional authority over trade. He also said it would target “special interests” that had cozied up to Trump.

Presumptive House Judiciary Committee Chair Jamie Raskin, D-Md., identified Epstein as a possible subject, including alleged Justice Department efforts to cover up his human trafficking operation. Raskin also said the committee could examine Trump’s $1.8 billion “lawfare fund,” his attempt to pardon himself, his family and their businesses, and possible violations of the emoluments clause by Trump and his Cabinet.

Oversight Meets Its Limits

A person familiar with Democrats’ plans said companies can’t avoid congressional subpoenas and can’t themselves be pardoned. Investigations could publicly reveal information with material consequences for companies. But oversight still runs through institutions whose authority can be contested. In a separate dispute over messages between Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Matt Floca, the Kennedy Center’s operator and Trump’s intermediary on a redesign, White House lawyers invoked executive privilege.

Preservation groups suing over the Kennedy Center sought details of the 180 messages exchanged during a three-month-long conversation. White House lawyers said the messages “reflect advice from the president” or deliberations of his close advisers. A judge must decide whether to set aside Trump’s claim of secrecy. The dispute comes as Trump is expected to assert executive privilege while congressional Democrats pursue oversight; court decisions could affect the center, Trump’s second term and the presidency.

Lina Khan, former Federal Trade Commission Chair, argued that investigations can help produce reforms and legislation. She cited the House Judiciary Committee’s “18-month investigation into Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google,” which she said secured evidence that their business practices undermined competition and harmed people, laying the basis for lawsuits and proposed legislation. Jacquez, however, warned Democrats against repeating what he called “the same mistake of 2019,” when, he said, they spent more than a year on impeachment. “The issue never really resonated for people,” he said.

Lucas Holtz, a senior political advisor at Third Way, said, “Voters don’t want us to investigate just for the sake of political vendettas. It’s not healthy for us as a democracy.” He urged Democrats to “responsibly investigate in a way that connects back to cost of living.” Investigations may expose corporate conduct. People want results they can feel, not another institutional performance, the poll and focus groups show.

Money, Prices and Political Leverage

Trump has told advisers he plans to keep raising money for his political operation after Republicans’ midterm losses. MAGA Inc. raised nearly $450 million since the beginning of 2025, with large contributions from cryptocurrency and artificial-intelligence donors and Republican megadonors including Elon Musk and Miriam Adelson. According to a source familiar with the totals, it spent more than $400 million on the midterms and had more than $164 million in its bank account as of Oct. 14, though its current balance is unclear.

Trump held high-dollar fundraising dinners at Mar-a-Lago and his golf club in Sterling, Virginia, attracting business leaders seeking favor with him. The New York Times reported that an administration decision to delay Medicare reimbursement restrictions benefited a medical-products company whose executives and affiliates gave MAGA Inc. $5 million. MAGA Inc. helped defeat Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie in the 2026 primary campaigns. Republicans lost control of Congress amid voter anger over the Iran war, high prices and corruption concerns.

The fight over economic policy is also a fight over who pays. New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani campaigned on lowering food prices and plans to build city-run grocery stores offering discounted goods. Liz Peek argued that the first store was estimated to cost $30 million, more than $3,000 per square foot, and was expected to operate at a loss indefinitely. Peek also argued that taxes and regulations would raise consumer prices, while a local civics professor said Ohio’s data-center results should “signal to statehouses nationwide that ratepayer protections, transparency, and grid safeguards should dominate policy agendas.”

Market analysts said interest-rate expectations would depend on oil prices, U.S. growth and fiscal policy. ICE Brent crude fell 8.7% on Wednesday, closing below $100 a barrel for the first time since September, amid expectations that Trump might be more inclined to negotiate an end to the war. Laurel Rapp, director for the U.S. and North America Program at Chatham House, said Democrats would seek House and Senate votes to constrain the administration on Iran war powers, but added, “whether that will bind the administration is another matter.”