The Democrats taking control of the House spells a series of massive headaches for Donald Trump.
The President will spend the final two years of his second term fending off corruption investigations into himself and his family, battling legislative gridlock and embroiled in spending battles and possible government shutdowns. He may also face a third impeachment crisis. It is not the way he wanted to end his time in office.
In January, Democrats will take over as chairs of House committees. They will have subpoena power to demand documents and funding to launch investigations.
Californian Democratic Congressman Robert Garcia, who is set to become the next chair of the House oversight committee, warned Republicans on Tuesday evening to 'lawyer up.'
He and other leading Democrats have vowed to begin a wide array of probes targeting the President, his sons Don Jr and Eric, and son-in-law Jared Kushner.
There will be investigations into family cryptocurrency ventures, the funding of projects including the White House ballroom, and Trump's acceptance of a Qatari jet to use as Air Force One.
There could even be attempts to call Barron and Melania as witnesses and Trump's legal team is already prepping behind the scenes to stage a robust defense of his family.
A Democratic congressional official told the Daily Mail: 'Anything that has to do with the Trump family is going to be looked at on day one. Anyone colluding with the Trump administration, anything regarding corporate corruption is going to be top of the list as well.
'We also are going to be looking at DHS and ICE abuse, and then finally, obviously, the continuation of the Epstein investigation.'
The Democrats taking control of the House spells a series of massive headaches for Donald Trump in his final two years in the White House
Elon Musk could also be in the firing line as Democrats seek to investigate his businesses and his role in DOGE.
Trump has hit back, declaring he would issue preemptive pardons to 'protect' Musk and any of his own aides who might be targeted.
'Gargantuan' investigations into Trump and family planned
Democratic congressman Jamie Raskin, who will chair the powerful Judiciary Committee, has described the scale of what is planned in pursuing the Trumps as 'gargantuan.'
Of particular interest to Raskin are a cryptocurrency deal that brought in $1.4 billion and Don Jr's venture capital firm. Ahead of the upcoming battle, the firm has accused Raskin of 'political gamesmanship' and a 'troubling lack of financial literacy.'
Meanwhile, Robert Garcia, the California Democrat lined up to chair the Oversight Committee, is expected to launch investigations into Trump family business dealings, ICE operations, alleged corporate corruption, and he also wants to hold public hearings into the administration's handling of the Epstein files.
In addition to members of Trump's family, Garcia wants to talk to serving and former officials including chief of staff Susie Wiles, deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, and former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
Meanwhile, the previously little-heralded House Natural Resources Committee, which oversees federal land in Washington, is set to become a household name as it launches investigations into funding of the White House ballroom, Trump's plan for a triumphal arch, and the project to repair the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.
An aerial view of construction of the White House ballroom which may be the subject of a Democrat-led investigation
If anyone ignores a subpoena, House committees can refer them for criminal contempt of Congress, which carries a possible jail sentence.
However, only the Justice Department can bring federal criminal charges, and that seems unlikely as it will remain under the aegis of Trump's Attorney General Todd Blanche.
That means, as much as Democrats try to drag Trump's children before Congress, they may not be able to.
So, whatever hearings they hold are likely to lead nowhere, but they will produce a flood of damaging publicity for Trump, tie up his administration and family members in expensive legal quagmires, and dominate the public discourse for the final two years of his term.
Democrats are set to launch investigations into Trump family cryptocurrency deals
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Will Trump be impeached?
When they took control of the House in the midterms in 2018, during Trump's first term, Democrats led by Speaker Nancy Pelosi impeached Trump twice. He was acquitted both times in the Senate, where a two-thirds majority is required for conviction. While Democrats have surpassed the 51 seats needed for an outright majority, they would still need Republican senators to support any impeachment bid to achieve this.
If a wave of progressive Democratic candidates are elected to the House this time it could force the hand of new Speaker Hakeem Jeffries, but there is less appetite for another impeachment of Trump this time around.
While Jeffries has repeatedly insisted that nothing has been ruled out, Ohio's newly elected senator Sherrod Brown said ahead of the vote: 'I can't speak for everybody else but I would not support an impeachment of Trump. There's just simply no reason for that, no matter what happens in the midterms.'
Instead, Democrats may seek to impeach Cabinet officials, including Pete Hegseth over the Iran war, as he is regarded by some left-wingers as 'low-hanging fruit.'
The White House says the committee investigations into Trump and his family will be simply an attempt to 'obstruct and baselessly target' the President.
Democratic strategist Mike Nellis, former Kamala Harris senior campaign adviser, told the Daily Mail: 'The most important thing that Democrats need to do is begin conducting serious investigations and tying it directly to how it's impacting people's lives.
'I would move forward on impeaching Hegseth over the war, in particular, but always, always, always tying it back to the material impact it is having on people's lives. We are removing Pete Hegseth in order to end the war, in order to lower your gas prices.'
He added: 'Don't launch investigations out of spite. Don't impeach out of spite. Do it to highlight to the American people how they're getting royally f***ed. The corruption in Washington is unprecedented .'
'Mr Veto'
In the House itself, Democrats will now be able to block Trump's proposals and pass their own legislation, prioritizing areas like healthcare and blocking AI data centers.
However, Trump has the power to veto their bills.
On the eve of the midterms, Trump said he would become 'Mr Veto' and that, after seeing their legislation blocked by the White House, Democrats would be forced to start making deals with him.
But the President appeared to change his tune in a call with Politico after it became clear the Democrats were set to take control of Congress.
'I have a right to veto everything, but I don't want to just sit there and veto everything for two years,' he said, in an apparent change of tack. 'We're going to work with the Democrats. They've already called.'
Democratic congressman Jamie Raksin has promised investigations into Trump on a 'gargantuan' scale
Trump's plan to outflank Congress
The President will have to work with Congress to some extent, because constitutionally, it holds the 'power of the purse' – the authority to greenlight federal spending.
But, as the executive, Trump can still act unilaterally in areas including tariffs, immigration and foreign policy.
For months, behind the scenes, White House officials including Stephen Miller and Russell Vought, Director of the Office of Management and Budget, have been working on ways to use executive orders to advance Trump's agenda in the event of losing the House.
Federal agencies have been putting forward proposals for measures that could be taken under executive authority. Those include executive orders cracking down on temporary foreign workers and international student visas, new import tariffs for critical minerals and wind turbines, and efforts to reduce construction costs.
Some of the executive measures could be funded by money that has already been assigned to federal agencies by Congress before the switchover.
Attempts to push the limits of Trump's executive authority will inevitably lead to court battles and judges could block some of his orders.
So far this term, Trump has already signed nearly 300 executive orders, significantly more than in his entire first term, and nearly double the number Joe Biden did in four years.
A Democrat-controlled House will be able to apply pressure on Trump over spending, which could lead to shutdowns, and an early major confrontation is expected next year over raising the debt ceiling
The Senate going blue is another headache for Trump. Had Republicans kept hold of it, he would have still been able to get his judicial and executive appointments through.
Democrats will now be looking to block his nominees for Cabinet jobs and other executive branch roles, and stop his appointment of federal judges.
Finally, if an opening arises on the Supreme Court, the Democrats will also try to kick filling it down the road until after the 2028 election, hoping that a new Democrat in the White House would then get to choose the new justice.
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