Democratic lawmakers and allied advocacy groups are promising aggressive oversight of the Trump Justice Department, presidential pardons and executive overreach if Democrats reclaim congressional majorities in the midterm elections.
Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland and Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island, top Democrats on their respective chambers’ judiciary panels, held a Constitution Day press conference Thursday with liberal activists to discuss what they will do if Democrats take control of Congress in January.
Mr. Raskin vowed that a Democratic House would launch “aggressive, serious and comprehensive oversight” into what he called the “destruction of the law enforcement function” at DOJ — including what he described as a “pay-to-play cash clemency operation” under President Trump.
He said Democrats have already documented in a “Pardons Inc. Report” what he called the conversion of presidential pardons into a “for-profit industry.”
“We should expect aggressive, serious and comprehensive oversight over the destruction of the law enforcement function in the Department of Justice,” said Mr. Raskin, who would become chair of the Judiciary Committee if Democrats win the House in November.
Mr. Raskin accused the administration of dismantling the Justice Department’s anti-corruption architecture and public integrity section.
“The enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act has been dismantled. Thousands of staff have left,” he said, adding that hundreds of DOJ and FBI personnel have been forced out for working on the Jan. 6 case.
“The pardon function has been completely eviscerated as Donald Trump has converted the Office of the Pardon Attorney into something completely different,” he said. “It’s basically dismantled that office and turned pardons into a pay-to-play cash clemency operation run directly out of the president’s hip pocket.”
Mr. Whitehouse accused the DOJ of being used to challenge state climate laws, interfere with climate litigation, and support efforts to block clean energy competition.
He said these actions are tied to what he called a broader “corruption apparatus.”
The Washington Times asked the Justice Department for comment.
Other suggestions to investigate the Trump administration, said Vanita Gupta, CEO of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, include probing the DOJ’s antitrust division and scrutinizing recent large corporate mergers that could “potentially change the media landscape and ecosystem,” as well as how “AI is operating.”
“There needs to be oversight over many of the key major developments around targeting of individual state election officials, state officials,” she said.
Former Ohio Supreme Court Justice Michael Donnelly said he would like to see an investigation into the legality of the lethal boat strikes that have been taking place since September 2025.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio defended these strikes on suspected drug-trafficking boats during a recent visit to Ecuador. He said Latin American cartels would “eat these countries alive” if nothing was done.
Since Mr. Trump returned to the White House, the U.S. has conducted airstrikes against vessels along known trafficking channels in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific.
According to the Pentagon, the operations have killed more than 200 people.
Mr. Raskin said he would launch investigative hearings on all the issues he mentioned if Democrats are in the majority.
Still, he said he cannot give a timeline for when such probes would begin.
“We have to work together as a committee. We have to work together as a caucus to put everything together,” he said.
The Washington Times reached out to the White House for comment.
In recent weeks, Democrats have been more candid about how they will scrutinize the Trump administration in a potentially Democrat-controlled Congress.
The latest Real Clear Politics generic congressional vote average shows their party leading the GOP by 8.7%. That average shows Democrats have been consistently leading Republicans throughout the year, with less than two months until the November election.
Mr. Whitehouse also told Democrat supporters earlier this month that they want to investigate the Supreme Court.
He told attendees at the Polk County Steak Fry in Des Moines, Iowa, how Democrats would police Supreme Court justices whom they say are influenced by far-right, dark-money groups.
Mr. Whitehouse said that he is preparing aggressive investigations and a stack of subpoenas alongside Mr. Raskin.
“He and I are already working together. We are already meeting monthly to plan,” Mr. Whitehouse said.
Mr. Whitehouse told the crowd that if he secures the Senate Judiciary Committee gavel and Mr. Raskin becomes chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, the justices would be their first target.
Democrats have railed against Supreme Court decisions such as overturning Roe v. Wade and nullifying portions of the Voting Rights Act.
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