President Donald Trump and his Justice Department are taking a combative stance toward Democrats after their midterm election victories, signaling intense conflict ahead as lawmakers prepare aggressive investigations of the executive branch next year.
Trump set the tone, declaring on social media that Democrats’ demands for an investigation already constitute “extortion at the highest levels, and they should be held accountable.” Attorney General Todd Blanche echoed the Republican president and said criminal investigations against Democrats were possible.
“They’re not allowed to just threaten existing members of the administration, threaten businesses, and that’s what President Trump is extremely concerned about and he should do that,” Blanche said as he and congressional Democrats appeared on Sunday’s news shows to discuss the fallout from last week’s election.
Rep. Robert Garcia, who is set to chair the powerful House Oversight Committee in the next Congress, is preparing investigations into what he calls the “Trump crime family.” He said Democrats would not be intimidated.
“The days of us not fighting back are over,” said Garcia, Democrat of California.
The opening speeches set up a showdown that will likely define Trump’s remaining two years in office and test Congress’s power to control the White House. About 7 in 10 voters nationally believe Congress is not doing enough to provide checks and balances to the presidency, according to The AP Voter Poll, a survey of more than 100,000 midterm voters.
Democrats have made it clear that impeachment is an option.
If there are people who “have deceived the American people, screwed over the American people or stolen from the American people, then they must be held accountable in a way that is consistent with the role of Congress, constitutionally,” said House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York.
Some Democrats worry about overreach
But the onslaught of investigations is also a source of tension for Democrats, with many warning that delivering on their central promise to voters — actions to lower the cost of living — must take priority.
Some worry that their resounding victories on Tuesday, which gave them a healthy majority in the House and Senate, could prove fleeting if conflict with Trump sets the agenda.
Sen.-elect Adam Hamilton, the first Democrat elected to the Kansas House in 94 years, expressed skepticism about impeachment, saying his campaign was about bringing people together. He said he didn’t want the next two years to be spent “further dividing our country.”
WATCH: Rep. Garcia says voters gave Democrats mandate to demand accountability
“I’m not as interested in impeachment as I am in putting safeguards in place,” Hamilton said. Hamilton nevertheless said he understood that some investigations were necessary and that Democrats “need to look at what happened in Washington.”
Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent from Vermont who is caucusing with Democrats, said he wanted to hold Trump accountable but warned that time was limited.
“We can’t spend all our time investigating Trump,” Sanders said. “We must stand up for working class families and make a real difference in their lives.”
Jeffries questions his collaboration with Stephen Miller
Jeffries, who is poised to become the nation’s first Black House speaker, was asked on election night about his prospects for working with Trump. He said he would be willing to work across the aisle “whenever possible to get real results.”
Jeffries on Sunday criticized Trump’s choice of longtime adviser Stephen Miller to succeed Susie Wiles as chief of staff, calling it a “terrible choice” and casting doubt on the prospect of working with him.
“There will certainly be no opportunity to work with Stephen Miller and what he represents. And we are determined to forcefully push back against the extremism that they may attempt to continue to unleash on the American people,” he said.
WATCH: What Trump Picks Stephen Miller as Chief of Staff Says About His Agenda
Democrats across the ideological spectrum criticized the nomination of Miller, one of the architects of Trump’s mass deportation machine that became an issue in the midterm elections. Nationally, about 6 in 10 voters said the administration’s immigration enforcement actions have “gone too far,” according to The AP Voter Poll.
Jeffries also said he supports a pending resolution from Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., to impeach Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. Jeffries said Democrats will discuss it when they return to the Capitol this week. “Hegseth must go,” he said.
“I am categorically in favor of the Hegseth resolution,” Jeffries said.
Hegseth, in a video, dismissed the impeachment campaign as a “politics of personal destruction.” He said “it won’t work with me.”
New senators express skepticism of Schumer
At least two new Democratic senators expressed reservations Sunday toward Democratic leader Chuck Schumer, who is expected to be re-elected to his post after returning his party to the majority.
Hamilton said he told Schumer, who is currently running unopposed, that he meant no disrespect, but that the New Yorker is a polarizing figure in Kansas and Hamilton is aiming for someone less divisive.
“What I would look for is a leader who can lead from the center, someone who can bring Republicans and Democrats together,” Hamilton said. “It feels like it’s time to have fresh, new ideas and find someone who can unite us instead of divide us.”
WATCH: Brooks and Capehart on Trump’s White House shakeup and the fallout from the midterm elections
Hamilton said he wanted to get to know other Democratic senators better before making any recommendations.
Sen.-elect Abdul El-Sayed of Michigan, whom Schumer did not support in the Democratic primary, said he is committed to Sen. Chris Van Hollen, but acknowledged that the Maryland Democrat does not appear to be a contender for the position.
El-Sayed said he and Schumer, who invested $67 million in El-Sayed’s general election campaign, “figured out how to work together” after the primaries.
“The question for me is: who wants to be the leader who will ensure that we respect the mandate that we have just received?” said El-Sayed.
Blanche has been interviewed on CNN’s “Fox News Sunday” and “State of the Union.” Garcia was also on CNN, Jeffries spoke on ABC’s “This Week,” Hamilton and Sanders were on CNN and NBC, and El-Sayed appeared on ABC.
Associated Press writers Mary Clare Jalonick and Lisa Mascaro in Washington contributed to this report.
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