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By Anna Skinner
Associate News Editor
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Representative Robert Garcia of California has pushed back against a warning from the White House over investigations Democrats are preparing to pursue when they take control of the House in January.
Garcia is the top Democrat on the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. With Democrats set to take control of the House, he is poised to become chairman of the committee, which would give him substantial power to direct investigations and issue subpoenas.
The clash comes after Democrats' sweeping midterm election victory on November 3 that will give them control of the House and its powerful investigative committees. Garcia and other senior Democrats have signaled that the incoming majority plans aggressive oversight of the Trump administration, including through subpoenas. The confrontation is already taking shape in Congress, where an effort to impeach Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was defeated Tuesday night.
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In the letter sent to Garcia on Monday, White House counsel Will Scharf criticized Democrats’ rhetoric, pointing to several instances in which lawmakers had alluded to incoming subpoenas and investigations, including Garcia’s two-word message after the midterms: “LAWYER UP.”
“The Trump Administration expects members of Congress to discharge their investigative functions within settled constitutional limits,” the letter read. “The Administration will not be extorted and will not be cowed by unlawful process motivated by animus, pettiness, hatred, or any other unlawful motive to intimidate, penalize, or interfere with the lawful functioning government.”
However, Garcia stressed that the House Oversight Committee “will not be deterred” by the message from the White House in a statement he shared on Wednesday.
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“It appears Donald Trump has something to hide,” the statement said. “Let’s be clear: Congress’ authority comes from Article I of the Constitution, not from the permission of the White House. Congress has wide latitude to conduct investigations and oversight, an authority inherent in the power to legislate.
“The American people voted overwhelmingly for us to pass laws to root out corruption and abuse. The Trump Administration continues to weaponize the government with threat of unconstitutional attacks on Congress. We are a co-equal branch of government and will not be deterred by baseless threats from a weaponized DOJ or from the President’s lawyers.”
Beyond subpoenas and potential impeachment proceedings, Garcia has begun laying the groundwork for other oversight priorities, including a renewed investigation into the federal government’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case.
This is a developing story. Updates to follow.
Newsweek’s reporters and editors used Martyn, our AI assistant, to produce this story. Learn more about Martyn here.
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Gabe Whisnant and Dave Siminoff.
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