Democrats plan investigations, inflation relief if they reclaim Congress

Washington | Oct. 15, 2026, 2:05 p.m. ET | 5 min read For almost two years, President Donald Trump’s Republican Party has had unified control over two of the three branches of government. That’s likely to shift in November.Polling currently shows Democrats in a strong position to win a majority of seats in the House of Representatives and potentially the Senate, and Democrats are already planning what they’ll do if they win control of one or both chambers. The to-do list is long and ambitious: Democrats say they will end the Iran war, find ways to address affordability, restore healthcare subsidies, investigate President Trump and his family, and more.But a majority isn’t everything. Particularly if they only win control of the House, Democrats will have a platform, but passing laws or imposing the checks they want on presidential power will be a struggle. “The reality is, when you are the majority party in one half of one third of the national government, there’s not a whole lot you can do,” says Matt Green, a professor of politics at Catholic University. Francis Chung/POLITICO/APDemocratic Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland speaks with reporters outside the U.S. Capitol on Sept. 14, 2026. If Democrats retake the House in the midterm elections, Representative Raskin is expected to chair the House Judiciary Committee, which could launch investigations into Trump administration dealings. Some of the thorniest problems Democrats want to address, like expanding health insurance coverage and making everyday life more affordable, aren’t easily solved by one party alone, analysts say. Still, Democrats will take advantage of the opportunities that a majority would provide them. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries is lining up plans to impeach Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and has established working groups to address high costs of living. House Democrats slated to lead major committees are preparing to investigate various administration actions.“We’re going to use every tool in the toolbox,” Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland, who is expected to chair the House Judiciary Committee, told CNN regarding his committee’s plans.Prepping for investigationsIf Democrats win a majority in either chamber, one of their biggest tools will be the ability to investigate the Trump administration. The majority party controls committees, giving them the power to hold hearings, issue subpoenas, and launch investigations.Prospective committee leaders have already laid out extensive plans for using this power. Democrats on the Judiciary and Oversight committees want to examine ways Mr. Trump and his family have profited while in office, including alleged conflicts of interest regarding the family’s cryptocurrency ventures. Leaders of these and other committees have also discussed investigations into military strikes on alleged drug boats in the Caribbean and Pacific Ocean, protester killings by federal immigration enforcement agents in Minneapolis earlier this year, and the administration’s withholding or redacting of files related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.“That’s really where you’re going to see the most action,” says Eric Schickler, co-director of the Institute of Governmental Studies at the University of California, Berkeley.Experts expect the Trump administration will fight back. In August, the Department of Justice issued a legal opinion saying executive privilege can cover some conversations the president has with advisers outside the executive branch. That lays the groundwork for the White House to withhold information from Democrats trying to investigate it. Annie Barker/APDemocratic Sen. Adam Schiff of California speaks during a summit hosted by Politico on Aug. 11, 2026, in Sacramento, California. Senator Schiff and colleagues sent a letter to the White House asking for confirmation it would cooperate with “current and future congressional inquiries.” Ten Democrats, led by California Sen. Adam Schiff, sent an August letter asking the White House to confirm it would cooperate with “current and future congressional inquiries.” They have not received a response, per Senator Schiff’s office.Still, Dr. Green says these investigations could be damaging to the administration.“You can just burden the executive branch with tons of requests, and for every request they deny, you then take them to court,” he says. “This White House is not immune from public embarrassment.”Pushing for legislative changeLeader Jeffries, who is in line to replace Mike Johnson as House Speaker if Democrats take the majority, has outlined specific priorities he says his party will tackle in a new Congress. He wants Democrats to pass laws to overturn the president’s tariffs, continue to hold votes opposing the Iran war, and reverse cuts to Medicaid that congressional Republicans passed last year. Democrats would have to overcome steep challenges to enact any of these into law, even with House and Senate majorities. Mr. Jeffries has already established working groups to tackle what he sees as five key issues in affordability: housing, healthcare, groceries and goods, gas and utilities, and caregiving. The groups will recommend actions that Democrats can take within the first 100 days of the next Congress, as well as throughout the year, Mr. Jeffries told reporters at a virtual press conference Oct. 4. Each working group is headed by one centrist and one progressive Democrat, according to reporting by The Associated Press.Affordability is “what unites Democrats across the ideological spectrum,” said Mr. Jeffries.Even if Democrats win both chambers, they’ll be faced with a 60-vote threshold in the Senate for most legislation. And Mr. Trump can veto laws, which would force Congress to muster a two-thirds majority in both the House and Senate.Divided government “is not always a recipe for a lot of legislative productivity,” says Molly Reynolds, director of Governance Studies at the Brookings Institution and an affiliate with the Center for Effective Lawmaking.Still, some experts say cooperation might not be impossible. Mr. Trump likes to be seen as a dealmaker, even frustrating Republicans during his first term by working with Democrats on issues like raising the debt ceiling. Deepen your worldviewwith Monitor Highlights.Politics with respectGet political stories with respectful analysis.There‘s a world of new ideas in everyBooks newsletter.There‘s more to life, enrich yours withCulture & Learning weekly.Follow humanity‘s discoveries withScience & Nature stories in your inbox.Gain a spiritual perspectivefrom the stories in your inbox.Want to understand the deeper impact of critical events? Learn the Monitor‘s insight.Already a subscriber? Log in to hide ads. Democrats may also try to attach their priorities to bills that Congress knows it has to pass. For example, when lawmakers tackle the debt limit and yearly spending bills, Democrats could try to slip in provisions that defund immigration enforcement or require the administration to spend money Congress has set aside.Mr. Jeffries has been reluctant to say whether Democrats will impeach Mr. Trump, though he has consistently declined to rule it out. Progressive Democrats like California Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ro Khanna support pursuing impeachment, while others like former – and hopeful – Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown say it would be little more than a distraction. Experts predict the party will face serious pressure from its base to try to impeach the president a third time. ALREADY A SUBSCRIBER? LoginReal news can be honest, hopeful, credible, constructive.The Christian Science Monitor was founded in 1908 to lift the standard of journalism and uplift humanity. We aim to “speak the truth in love.” Our goal is not to tell you what to think, but to give you the essential knowledge and understanding to come to your own intelligent conclusions. Join us in this mission by subscribing.