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Rep. Robert Garcia, the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, issued a two-word warning Tuesday after Democrats were projected to win control of the U.S. House of Representatives: “Lawyer up.”
Garcia, a California Democrat who is expected to become chair of the House Oversight Committee, has said he plans to pursue investigations into President Donald Trump’s administration, the Trump family’s business dealings, immigration enforcement and the Jeffrey Epstein scandal.
Democrats won a series of competitive House races Tuesday, including seats in Kentucky, New Jersey, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Ohio, as news organizations projected the party would regain control of the chamber.
The party also retook control of the U.S. Senate.
The House Oversight Committee has broad authority to call witnesses, request government records and issue subpoenas.
Garcia, currently the committee’s ranking Democrat, has previously said he would investigate Elon Musk’s role in the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, as well as Trump family business dealings and alleged abuses involving Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
“We’re not starting from scratch here,” Garcia previously told Punchbowl News. “There’s an enormous amount of work that has happened that is public, and there’s an enormous amount of work that’s happened that we’ve been quietly working on for many months.”
Garcia has also pointed to the committee’s authority to pursue contempt proceedings and take disputes to court.
“We have the power to go to the courts on behalf of the House. We have the power of contempt, and not just criminal contempt, but civil contempt that goes to the courts. We have the power of subpoena,” he said.
Sen. Ron Wyden, the Democrat expected to lead the Senate Finance Committee, also signaled plans to use expanded congressional authority.
“Subpoenas,” Wyden wrote on X.
Republicans had controlled both the House and Senate for the previous two years, limiting Democrats’ ability to direct congressional investigations into Trump, his administration and his allies.
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