US midterm elections 2026: Top Democrat tells Trump administration to 'lawyer up'

A senior Democrat has warned US President Donald Trump and his Republican allies to "lawyer up", vowing to investigate alleged corruption and the business dealings of the president's family following the party's midterm election victories. Speaking to Punchbowl News on Tuesday, Robert Garcia, who is expected to chair the powerful House Oversight Committee, said Democrats would use their congressional powers to scrutinise the Trump family's financial interests. The California Democrat said he would investigate "Trump crypto schemes" and how members of the president's family, including Jared Kushner, were "sitting on boards and getting contracts". "Anyone who has been in bed with the Trumps" would have "no choice but to respond to our questions", he said. Hours later, Garcia issued a blunt two-word warning: "Lawyer up." New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters Garcia has previously pledged to investigate what he called the "Trump Crime Family", as well as corporate corruption, alleged abuses by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and the handling of the Epstein files. Among the issues likely to attract scrutiny are the Trump family's lucrative business relationships with foreign investors and government-linked figures, particularly in the United Arab Emirates. In January 2025, four days before Trump's inauguration, UAE-backed investors agreed to pay $500m for a 49 percent stake in World Liberty Financial, the cryptocurrency company co-founded by Trump's sons, Donald Trump Jr and Eric Trump. The investment was backed by Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the UAE's national security adviser and brother of the country's president. According to the Wall Street Journal, $187m of the initial payment went to entities linked to the Trump family, while $31m went to companies associated with Steve Witkoff, Trump's Middle East envoy and a co-founder of the venture. Conflict of interest? The deal raised questions about potential conflicts of interest, particularly after the Trump administration subsequently approved the export of advanced artificial intelligence chips to the UAE, easing restrictions imposed under former President Joe Biden. A separate deal involving Abu Dhabi-backed investors also brought World Liberty Financial under scrutiny. In May 2025, MGX, an investment firm backed by Abu Dhabi, announced a $2bn investment in cryptocurrency exchange Binance, using World Liberty's USD1 stablecoin to facilitate the transaction. While MGX was the investor and Binance the recipient, the use of USD1 potentially generated interest income and other commercial benefits for World Liberty through the assets backing the stablecoin. The arrangement attracted further scrutiny after Binance founder Changpeng Zhao was pardoned by Trump in October 2025, after pleading guilty in 2023 to violating US anti-money-laundering requirements. US midterm elections 2026: Democrats sweep House and Senate in major rebuke to Trump Read More » According to a June 2026 report by Democratic staff on the Senate Banking Committee, at least 10 Trump administration policy actions benefiting the UAE followed investments in Trump family cryptocurrency ventures. Trump's family and close associates have also established lucrative financial relationships with Saudi Arabia, raising further questions about potential conflicts of interest. Kushner, Trump's son-in-law and former senior White House adviser, secured a $2bn investment from Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF) for his private equity firm, Affinity Partners, after leaving the first Trump administration. The fund is chaired by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, widely known as MBS, with whom Kushner developed close ties during his time in the White House. The Trump Organisation has also pursued property and licensing ventures across the Gulf, including projects in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the UAE and Oman. These include luxury residential developments, hotels and golf resorts promoted by Trump's sons. According to the Oversight Democrats' 2026 report, Trump and his family are believed to have generated $2.25bn in realised profits from digital currency ventures and other foreign-linked payments. The figure rises to as much as $9.72bn when estimated unrealised wealth is included. Speaking ahead of Tuesday's election, Trump indicated that he would consider issuing pre-emptive pardons to himself and his aides if they faced investigations led by Democrats. "I would if needed to," he told The Post's Pod Force One host Miranda Devine. "I would not even think about it. I'd do it."