President Donald Trump is known to occasionally seek collaboration with — even offer praise to — his opponents.
asserted
Trump → know → praise
As Democrats prepare to take control of the House and Senate next year, they are already plotting out ways to investigate the president, his administration, and its allies.
asserted
they → prepare → president
Democrats’ ravenous appetite for investigations — and the White House’s hostility towards them — raises serious questions about whether the two parties will be able to work together to any extent, even as administration officials begin floating opportunities for bipartisan cooperation.
asserted
officials → raise → cooperation
“They’re going to be out for blood,” one Trump administration official told Semafor.
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official → go → Semafor
Democrats have spent Trump’s second term on the sidelines, trying to learn from the aftermath of the first Trump administration.
asserted
Democrats → spend → administration
Even before voters delivered Republicans a generational rebuke, leaders had been methodically mapping out a multi-pronged oversight approach.
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leaders → deliver → approach
Incoming House Oversight Chair Robert Garcia, D-Calif., told Semafor his committee will be “laser focused on four major lanes” — the Trump family, immigration, corporations, and convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.
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committee → income → lanes
“We’ve been laying the groundwork,” said Garcia, who released a statement after the midterms advising Republicans to “lawyer up.”
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who → lay → Republicans
He predicted that every Democratic committee chair would get in on the action: “There’s more than enough corruption to go around.”
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chair → predict → action
Prior to the election, returning and incoming House Democrats had expressed “an incredible amount of interest” in joining the Oversight panel, Garcia said.
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Garcia → return → panel
Now, leaders in both chambers believe voters have given them free rein to take their efforts to the next level.
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voters → believe → level
“Americans are calling for accountability, not accomodation,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Wednesday.
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Schumer → call → accountability
“Whenever Trump defies the will of the American people or the law, we will launch investigations, take him to court, and entangle him in legislative razor wire.”
The administration is already warning them to back off.
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administration → defy → them
“As the President has said, he’s willing to work with anyone to continue delivering victories for hardworking Americans.
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he → say → Americans
If Democrats choose to pursue sham investigations and radical left policies, they are choosing to work against the American people,′ White House spokeswoman Lauren Bis told Semafor.
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Bis → choose → Semafor
Its resistance is no surprise to Democrats, who had already begun strategizing how to circumvent Trump by probing the private sector instead.
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who → begin → sector
Government officials can invoke executive privilege to avoid providing documents, as they have in the Kennedy Center case; corporate leaders cannot.
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leaders → invoke → case
“We are cognizant of lessons learned from Trump 1.0 of how much they use the courts to string out the process,” said Dan Goshorn, Senate Finance Committee Democrats’ chief investigation counsel, said.
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Goshorn → learn → process
“So from our perspective, private companies have more of a reputational risk and are going to be more willing to cooperate,” Goshorn added.
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Goshorn → have → risk
“We’re going to go wherever the information is.”
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information → go → ?
After the bruising results, Trump on Tuesday suggested he’s open to collaborating with Democrats on legislation, telling The New York Times that “we’ll probably work something out.”
uncertain
we → suggest → something
Some administration officials predicted Trump and Democrats could find common ground on changing immigration enforcement and addressing pharmaceutical costs — though one Trump adviser expressed skepticism at the idea of an immigration deal, pointing to exit polls showing that the issue remained one of the few Republican strengths.
uncertain
issue → predict → strengths
That adviser suggested the president and Democrats could also work together on AI — particularly rules around data centers — and other cost-of-living issues.
uncertain
president → suggest → living
Specific bipartisan ideas could include enacting manufacturing and clean energy tax credits or reauthorizing federal transportation programs.
uncertain
ideas → include → programs
Trump “at his core does like dealmaking,” one person close to the White House told Semafor.
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person → like → Semafor
But it’s unclear how long that goodwill can last amid a torrent of congressional oversight.
uncertain
goodwill → ’ → oversight
Trump’s aides are bracing for impact, with the administration official predicting Democrats would try to tear down Trump’s new ballroom.
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Democrats → brace → ballroom
“There’s going to be a lot more war than peace,” a former Trump administration official said.
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official → go → peace
“The Democrats feel they have a mandate to torture the administration with subpoenas and lawfare.”
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they → feel → subpoenas
Spending legislation will pose an early first test.
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legislation → spend → test
Government funding is slated to lapse next month, which Garcia said Democrats will use to finalize their plans for next year.
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Democrats → slat → year
“It’s going to be very hard for Democrats to look at what happened [Tuesday] and … pass a clean continuing resolution that locks in Medicaid cuts and SNAP cuts and ICE funding and Pentagon funding after you’ve just seen the biggest mandate in the history of midterm elections against the Republican agenda,” Groundwork Collaborative’s Alex Jacquez told Semafor.
asserted
Jacquez → go → Semafor
Working with Democrats would also inevitably expose Trump to criticism from his own party.
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Working → work → party
The person close to the White House warned a bipartisan immigration deal could “damage the GOP even further.”
uncertain
deal → warn → GOP
The Trump family’s “enormous amount of grift” is “at the top of [Democrats’] list,” Garcia said, now that lawmakers in both chambers will be able to schedule hearings and issue subpoenas.
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lawmakers → say → subpoenas
He pointed to the money the Trumps have made from cryptocurrency; the Russian oligarch who helped pay for Donald Trump Jr.’s wedding; and Trump Jr. and Jared Kushner’s business ventures.
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who → point → wedding
Lawmakers also plan to scrutinize “pay-to-play and profitmaking” at the Department of Homeland Security, including by former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Corey Lewandowski.
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Lawmakers → plan → Noem
And they’ll go after “corporate corruption, particularly anyone that’s worked with the Trumps to rip off the American people,” as well as the Epstein investigation.
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that → go → investigation
“Republicans have done little to nothing to advance it,” Garcia said of that probe.
asserted
Garcia → do → probe
The House Judiciary Committee is bracing to tackle other corruption issues, like pardons.
asserted
Committee → brace → pardons
…and 18 more, not listed.
The Aporia
