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.