Democrats are sharing their growing list of senior officials and advisors in President Donald Trump’s administration who could face impeachment efforts and congressional investigations when they take control of Congress in January.
Left-wing lawmakers are signaling that their oversight ambitions extend well beyond War Secretary Pete Hegseth after Tuesday’s failed impeachment effort.
Top House and Senate Democrats told Digital they are considering investigations, congressional hearings and potential impeachment proceedings targeting senior administration officials, including Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, White House adviser Stephen Miller and border czar Tom Homan.
‘LAWYER UP’: DEMS IMMEDIATELY PUT TRUMP ON NOTICE AMID REPUBLICANS’ MIDTERM BLOODBATH
“Our job of accountability doesn’t change, we are going to hold everyone accountable that needs to be held accountable,” Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., told Digital when asked about possible action against Miller and Homan. “Especially if we’ve seen the violations and any kind of gross abuses.”
Gallego acknowledged that the details of any potential efforts to remove the officials “remain to be seen.”
Miller and Homan did not respond to Digital’s requests for comment.
Rep. Yassamin Ansari, D-Ariz., who introduced articles of impeachment against Hegseth in April, echoed Gallego’s remarks, signaling support for further accountability efforts in the House.
HEGSETH COULD FACE NEW IMPEACHMENT PUSH OVER UKRAINE AID, LAWMAKERS WARN
Rep. Adelita Grijalva, D-Ariz., also expressed support for increased congressional scrutiny, arguing that voters sent a message during the midterm elections.
“What we heard from the American people on Tuesday (midterms) was to put an end to the corruption,” Grijalva told Digital.
“We’re looking at the executive in the White House making hand over fist millions of dollars while in office,” she continued.
Rep. Ted Lieu, D-Calif., the current vice chair of the House Democratic Caucus and a candidate to lead the conference in January, also backed discussions about potential investigations into Miller and Homan.
Lieu told Digital that, if elected caucus chairman, he intends to discuss with Democratic leadership how to proceed with congressional hearings, investigations and possible impeachment proceedings targeting the two officials.
The California Democrat also called for an investigation into Lutnick over allegations involving NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang and a suspected Chinese intelligence operative.
NVIDIA SPY CASE EXPOSES HOW FOREIGN AGENTS TARGET AMERICA’S CORPORATE ELITE: ‘HE IS COMPROMISED’
“Howard Lutnick needs to be investigated over his role in Jensen Huang and the Chinese spy, we’re going to have an investigation into those allegations, that’s completely unacceptable,” Lieu told Digital.
Lieu alleged that Lutnick knew about the reported relationship but failed to investigate or take action.
Lutnick did not respond to Digital’s request for comment.
Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., a vice chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus and member of the House Select Committee on China, also supported investigating Lutnick and did not rule out scrutinizing Rubio’s potential involvement.
DEMOCRATS RALLY BEHIND GOP LAWMAKER’S HEGSETH IMPEACHMENT PUSH, SIGNAL MORE TO COME IN JANUARY
“I think we need transparency,” Khanna told Digital. “I think we need to understand what they (Rubio and Lutnick) knew.”
“Rubio knew about the Chinese spy, and then got invited to the China trip,” Khanna continued. “We need to get to the bottom of this.”
Rubio did not respond to Digital’s request for comment.
The lawmakers’ remarks signal that Democrats could use their congressional majorities to expand oversight of Trump’s administration, although no findings of wrongdoing involving the named officials have been established in the allegations presented.
While the House can impeach federal civil officers by a simple majority, conviction and removal require a two-thirds vote in the Senate.
Republicans, meanwhile, accused Democrats of pursuing politically motivated impeachment proceedings against Trump administration officials.
House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Brian Mast, R-Fla., told Digital following Tuesday’s vote that he was “not surprised” by Democrats’ interest in impeaching Hegseth.
Mast argued that Democrats were determined to impeach “anyone who was appointed by the president,” regardless of whether evidence supported the allegations.