Rep. Robert Garcia, who is set to lead the powerful House Oversight Committee when Democrats take control of Congress next year, has pledged an “aggressive” investigative approach, although President Donald Trump has pushed the Justice Department to look into the cases.
“The days of us not fighting back are over. This idea that we’re not going to every time not take this fight is over,” Garcia told CNN’s Dana Bash on “State of the Union” this morning.
The California Democrat accused Attorney General Todd Blanche of “threatening” lawmakers on the investigation committee in an effort to prevent them from carrying out oversight, adding: “We are not going to be intimidated.”
“All he wants to do is protect Donald Trump, is to protect the cabinet and the officials of Donald Trump’s administration. That’s not his job,” he said. “We also need to remind him that monitoring will do our job. »
Garcia called the DOJ’s position “ridiculous,” adding, “they are so thin-skinned.”
Laying out a broad agenda for his commission, Garcia listed Trump’s top advisers and family members, as well as Elon Musk, among the targets of the investigations.
He said watchdog lawmakers believe Stephen Miller, whom Trump named the new White House chief of staff on Friday, has “been at the center of actions that are unconstitutional, unjust and possibly illegal.”
He called the Trumps “the most corrupt family ever represented in the Oval Office of the White House,” telling Bash that Donald Trump Jr. and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner should “answer questions” before the committee.
And Garcia said the panel is already looking into allegations by a former top health and human services adviser that outgoing chief of staff Susie Wiles blocked certain health policies to protect corporate interests.
“The fact that political donations may have had an impact here is serious and deserves investigation,” he said.
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