Trump agenda likely to be curbed with Democrats in charge

Washington — President Trump seems to beryllium reconsidering his attack to Democrats aft Tuesday's monolithic Republican predetermination losses and has truthful acold made contradictory comments astir however helium plans to woody with them arsenic they instrumentality power of the Senate and the House successful January. 

"We're going to enactment with the Democrats," the president told Politico arsenic GOP defeats were opening to stack up Tuesday night, though successful a telephone call with CBS News' Robert Costa earlier polls closed, helium had said, "I person the eventual powerfulness — it's called 'veto.'" 

By Wednesday afternoon, helium had merged the 2 approaches.

"I'll get along, probably, with the Democrats, unless they privation to beryllium destructive, but I person the powerfulness of the veto," the president told reporters astatine the White House ballroom operation tract Wednesday. On Thursday, a reddish chapeau that said "VETO" sat connected the Resolute Desk successful the Oval Office.

But Democrats whitethorn not beryllium the lone root of friction ahead. After 2 years of moving successful lockstep with Mr. Trump, immoderate Republicans whitethorn beryllium much consenting to defy the term-limited president to effort to salvage their governmental careers. 

Here's what the recently empowered legislature Democrats whitethorn person successful store for Mr. Trump successful 2027 for the past 2 years of his presidency. 

Oversight and investigations

The committee chair's gavel comes with subpoena power, and Democrats program to wield it.

"Lawyer up," warned Rep. Robert Garcia of California, the incoming president of the House Committee connected Oversight and Government Reform. He has been mapping retired the panel's investigative docket for months. 

New probes volition absorption connected the Trump family's concern dealings, firm corruption, Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement actions and the Jeffrey Epstein scandal, Garcia said. 

Garcia wants to cognize much astir Donald Trump Jr.'s Bahamas wedding festivities that were partially paid for by a Russian oligarch, a $2 cardinal concern that Jared Kushner's backstage equity fund received from Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealthiness fund, the Trump family's crypto ventures, companies linked to the president's sons that person received Pentagon contracts, allegations of a pay-to-play strategy and different kickbacks related to DHS contracts and White House ballroom donations. 

"Folks that request to beryllium acrophobic archetypal are medication officials that person caused existent harm. We're going to analyse the abuses," Garcia said astatine a quality league successful California connected Wednesday. 

He singled retired White House lawman main of unit Stephen Miller, erstwhile DHS authoritative Corey Lewandowski and erstwhile DHS caput Kristi Noem, arsenic good arsenic Trump household members, arsenic imaginable targets. 

"There's a batch of folks that request to recognize that we are going to inquire them to attest successful beforehand of the U.S. Congress," Garcia said. 

He acknowledged that the Trump Justice Department is improbable to instrumentality immoderate enforcement enactment against those who don't cooperate. But helium said that successful the majority, Democrats volition person the powerfulness to writer connected behalf of the House. 

"We person the powerfulness of contempt charges. And contempt charges not lone spell to the DOJ; there's besides a civilian contempt process that goes to the courts," helium said. 

Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland, who volition pb the House Judiciary Committee, has his ain lengthy database of investigative targets, immoderate of which overlap with the oversight committee, similar the Justice Department's handling of the Epstein probe and Ghislaine Maxwell's transportation to a low-security prison. 

Raskin besides plans to scrutinize what Democrats person characterized arsenic "slush funds" — an planetary inaugural called the "Board of Peace;" the "anti-weaponization" money created from a colony of a Trump suit against the IRS and Treasury Department and White House ballroom funding. 

"There are backstage entities that we tin subpoena to travel in," Raskin told Punchbowl News, regarding different avenues to stitchery accusation from extracurricular of the Trump administration. 

Rep. Adam Smith of Washington, the apical Democrat connected the House Armed Services Committee, said helium plans to behaviour "vigorous oversight" of the Defense Department. 

The "illegal warfare against Iran is apical of caput for maine and the American people," Smith said successful a connection Wednesday. He said helium besides plans to look astatine "sweetheart deals" and waste, fraud and maltreatment successful authorities contracts. 

Smith besides wants to analyse the "unauthorized subject strikes successful the Caribbean and Latin America, the deployment of the subject to U.S. cities, and the blatant and corrosive politicization of our Armed Forces and purging of the ranks based connected loyalty and ideology." 

Douglas Kriner, a prof successful Cornell University's Government Department, said "there's ever been greater investigatory enactment successful divided governments than erstwhile the president's enactment controls Congress." He said the House has ever been much assertive successful its investigations than the Senate. 

A White House authoritative said that if Democrats privation to "abuse their powerfulness and politicize the process of investigations, subpoenas and destroying lives, they should beryllium reminded that we inactive power the national authorities and each of its powers." 

"As the president has said, he's consenting to enactment with anyone to proceed delivering victories for hardworking Americans," said White House spokeswoman Lauren Bis. "If Democrats take to prosecute sham investigations and extremist near policies, they are choosing to enactment against the American people."

Not inclined to impeach Trump astatine this point

During the campaign, Mr. Trump often predicted he'd beryllium impeached if Democrats took power of Congress, but for now, they've shown nary motion that this is connected their agenda. On Wednesday, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries told reporters, "I haven't had a azygous subordinate of the House Democratic Caucus speech to maine astir impeachment." 

Mr. Trump was impeached doubly during his archetypal word erstwhile Democrats controlled the House. Both efforts ended without a condemnation successful the Senate, which requires a two-thirds bulk vote. 

Even those connected the acold left, similar Rep.-elect Melat Kiros of Colorado, who is among the contingent of antiauthoritarian socialists joining Congress adjacent year, told CBS News successful a caller interrogation that the enactment should absorption connected authorities that could marque a worldly quality successful the lives of working-class people. 

"I'm not convinced that determination is simply a way guardant for impeaching the president that would pb to removal," she said. 

Asked whether helium would enactment impeaching the president, Rep.-elect Chris Rabb of Pennsylvania, different antiauthoritarian socialist, told CBS News that the question was "too broad" for him to answer. 

Some Democratic leaders similar Raskin hold determination are much important issues to code than pursuing impeachment, adjacent though they judge that Mr. Trump has committed impeachable offenses. Raskin was the pb House manager for Mr. Trump's 2nd impeachment. 

The president besides perceives that there's presently small appetite for a 3rd try. 

"Not adjacent a small bit," Mr. Trump responded erstwhile asked if helium was disquieted astir being impeached again. "I deliberation it would destruct the Democrat Party if they did that. 'Cause impeachment for nary crushed — what, for having a palmy country? Our state is much palmy present than astatine immoderate clip successful its history." 

Taking backmost powerfulness of the purse

Democrats volition besides beryllium taking backmost Congress' powerfulness of the purse from Mr. Trump, who often bypassed the Senate and the House, and Republicans successful the Capitol, who usually went on with the president's fund priorities. But their overmuch slimmer House bulk often slowed down the process. 

Democratic Rep. Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut, who's expected to pb the House Appropriations Committee, said she plans to usage "what tools are available" to rein successful the Trump administration. 

In a caller interview, DeLauro said she wants to code cost-of-living issues but besides said, "I volition combat Donald Trump and the Cabinet secretaries arsenic well." 

"I'm going to clasp the Trump medication accountable for the corruption," she said. "I'm going to rein successful corruption astatine the highest level of government. I would bash that done appropriations." 

"We volition physique successful guardrails successful the appropriation bills," DeLauro added. 

Asked whether she would see zeroing retired backing to enforce accountability, DeLauro said each options "will beryllium reviewed." 

Although legislature Democrats program to ratchet up the unit connected the Trump administration, they cognize they'll request to enactment with Republicans connected large legislation, similar backing the authorities due to the fact that of the Senate filibuster. The bulk of measures request to scope a 60-vote threshold of enactment successful the Senate to flooded a filibuster.

With a fewer exceptions similar the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, "most of what Congress has done successful the archetypal 2 years of the Trump medication has required bipartisan enactment due to the fact that it's had to flooded the filibuster," said Molly Reynolds, vice president and manager of governance studies astatine the Brookings Institution. "So, successful that sense, we would inactive beryllium looking astatine bipartisan legislating."

Kriner suggested Democrats whitethorn effort to usage the appropriations process, regulation riders and different tools astatine their disposal to power what Mr. Trump's agencies tin and can't do. And much than once, the White House Office of Management and Budget has unilaterally made spending decisions astir funds that were already appropriated by Congress. The OMB has tried to marque the case, Kriner said, that presidents person exclusive powers nether Article II to determine however wealth is spent. 

"That's been the cardinal beforehand of an organization conflict implicit the archetypal 2 years of the Trump administration, and it has truly big, lasting implications for what the equilibrium of powerfulness crossed the branches is going to look like," Kriner said. 

In opposition with the White House's pugnacious tone, Mr. Trump has been much conciliatory and said helium whitethorn enactment with Democrats. 

"My connection is congratulations to the Democrats, and I look guardant to moving with you for the bully of our country," the president told CBS News elder White House analogous Weijia Jiang connected Tuesday night. 

What volition hap to Trump nominees?

Democratic power of the Senate volition marque it hard for the president to get his nominees confirmed. 

Mr. Trump has repeatedly said helium doesn't program to occurrence Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. But helium besides told ABC News' Jonathan Karl connected Wednesday that it would beryllium easier to corroborate a caller defence caput earlier the caller Congress is seated successful January. 

The president volition apt person to trust connected acting officials for roles that request to beryllium filled, unless helium nominates candidates who tin triumph bipartisan support. 

Power of the pen

The president has relied connected enforcement authorization for overmuch of his second-term agenda, adjacent nether the unified power of authorities helium enjoyed during his archetypal 2 years successful office. 

Brandon Rottinghaus, governmental subject prof astatine the University of Houston, said, "That's been his M.O. He likes it arsenic a streamlined mode to prosecute his objectives successful a mode that aren't checked typically by Congress."

Rottinghaus noted that President Barack Obama progressively relied connected enforcement actions aft Republicans won backmost the House successful 2010, particularly connected his migration priorities, galore of which were challenged successful tribunal and rolled backmost by the Trump administration. 

"Legislative constraints volition promote statesmanlike unilateralism, but the courts volition decidedly bounds those kinds of actions," Rottinghaus said. 

The president picked up his pen Thursday to motion an enforcement bid designating the Oval Office and Cabinet Room nationalist landmarks, saying aboriginal presidents won't beryllium capable to marque large changes. But a aboriginal president could besides motion a caller enforcement bid to undo it. 

Trump's narration with Republicans 

Before the elections, astir Republicans successful Congress supported, defended and voted for Mr. Trump's priorities. Now, Mr. Trump is looking astatine what Rottinghaus called a "ticking clock."

"The past 2 years are going to beryllium the hardest of his governmental career," Rottinghaus said. "His leverage implicit members of Congress, particularly Republicans, volition diminish arsenic lawmakers deliberation astir their ain governmental futures alternatively than the president's." 

"Republicans are going to person to fig retired a mode forward," helium continued. "You know, they're going to person to fig retired a mode guardant astir Donald Trump."