Key facts
- Scalise asked GOP chairs to take inventory of current and likely future Democratic investigative efforts.
- Scalise asked chairs to identify Democrats' target list of officials, programs and allies.
- Scalise said Democrats will use oversight authorities to harass the president, his family and cabinet officials.
- Rep. Jamie Raskin said he has sent more than 200 letters outlining his investigative interests.
- Scalise launched a bid for House minority leader a day before the letter, Fox News reported.
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise wrote to Republican committee chairs on Thursday urging them to "maximize our remaining days in power" and prepare for an expected wave of Democratic investigations once Democrats take control of the House.
In the letter, Scalise asked the chairs to begin "taking inventory" of current and likely future Democratic investigative efforts, to identify who is on Democrats' target list, and to review how recent Supreme Court rulings and a Department of Justice memo on executive privilege could affect future investigations, according to Fox News, which said a source sent it a copy.
Scalise wrote that Democrats "will use their oversight authorities to harass the president, his family, and cabinet officials, and they will seek to destroy our allies," adding that the chairs "will be a key line of defense in this fight." He said his staff would meet with the relevant committees and asked chairs to tell him what additional tools or support they need.
Democrats' targets could include "administration officials, programs and authorities, and external allies, including conservative partners and industry leaders," Scalise said, according to Fox News.
Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland, the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, told reporters on Thursday that he had sent more than 200 letters outlining his investigative interests. "Go back and read my letters. It's a pretty good trail of crumbs of what we're going to do," Raskin said at a Center for American Progress event, The Hill reported.
A spokeswoman for House Judiciary Committee Democrats told Fox News that Scalise was asking Republicans "to compile a list of all the corruption, lawlessness, and abuse they've been protecting from congressional oversight."
The Hill reported that the two House panels likely to be central to inquiries into Trump and his family do not yet have clear Republican leadership in place. Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio has termed out leading the House Judiciary Committee and has said he plans to run for minority leader, while House Oversight Chair James Comer of Kentucky is leaving Congress after winning his bid for Kentucky governor, The Hill reported. Fox News reported that Scalise launched a bid for minority leader a day before the letter and will face Jordan for the post.