Key facts
- Garcia is the ranking member of the House oversight committee and is expected to become its chair.
- Garcia has said he would investigate Elon Musk's role in the "department of government efficiency (Doge)" if Democrats won.
- Garcia has also named the Trump family's business dealings, ICE abuses and the Jeffrey Epstein scandal as targets.
- Garcia told Punchbowl News Democrats have the power of subpoena, civil and criminal contempt, and access to courts.
- Ron Wyden is the Democratic senator poised to lead the Senate finance committee.
Democrats retook control of the US Senate and were widely expected to take the House after voters cast ballots in the midterm elections on November 3, according to news organizations. Before midnight, Democrats flipped competitive House seats in Kentucky, New Jersey, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Ohio, as well as key Senate races.
Robert Garcia, the Democratic congressman set to become the next chair of the House oversight committee, had two words for Republicans on Tuesday evening: "Lawyer up." Garcia currently serves as the committee's ranking member. The panel has broad authority to call witnesses, request government documents and issue subpoenas.
Garcia has previously said that if Democrats won he would lead investigations into Elon Musk's role in the "department of government efficiency (Doge)", the Trump family's business dealings, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) abuses and the Jeffrey Epstein scandal. "We're not starting from scratch here," Garcia previously told Punchbowl News. "There's an enormous amount of work that has happened that is public, and there's an enormous amount of work that's happened that we've been quietly working on for many months."
Ron Wyden, the Democratic senator poised to lead the Senate finance committee, also pointed to his potential future authority. "Subpoenas," Wyden wrote on X. Garcia told Punchbowl News: "We have the power to go to the courts on behalf of the House. We have the power of contempt, and not just criminal contempt, but civil contempt that goes to the courts. We have the power of subpoena."