Rep. Robert Garcia, the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, says the panel would target President Donald Trump’s family, business partners and allies if Democrats win the House in November.
“The single biggest part of our work is going to be focused on the Trump crime family,” Garcia told the Financial Times. “If you are involved in any way with the Trumps, and if you’re part of an American business, you’re going to respond to the Congress.”
Garcia said he believes Trump has “committed crimes” and “impeachable offences, and I think it’s our job to build the case and to provide the evidence.” He described alleged corruption involving the family and administration as so extensive that “the scale and the scope of it is so outrageous.”
The pledge comes amid broader Democratic plans for a possible House majority. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries’ private meeting with Jared Kushner contrasted with his public promises to investigate the Trump administration; that coverage also noted that Rep. Jamie Raskin, who could lead the Judiciary Committee, has called for investigations into alleged financial corruption.
Garcia wants answers from Donald Trump Jr. about Pentagon contracts awarded to companies backed by his firm, 1789 Capital, and about a Russian businessman who paid hundreds of thousands of dollars for Trump Jr.’s wedding celebrations in the Bahamas. The Financial Times reported that 1789 invested in rare-earths startup Vulcan Elements shortly before it received a $620 million Pentagon loan. Another firm backed by 1789, drone maker Unusual Machines, also won a military contract.
A Trump Jr. spokesperson said he had no role in government negotiations involving portfolio companies. A Pentagon official said, “No company receives preferential treatment,” and that “outside affiliations, investors or political connections play absolutely no role in the department’s funding decisions.”
The White House rejected the planned inquiries. “Democrats have no agenda to improve the lives of the American people, just plans to obstruct and baselessly target President Trump’s commonsense agenda,” it said. The White House also said Trump’s stock portfolio is “independently managed by third-party financial institutions,” that independent managers make investment decisions, and that there are “no conflicts of interest.”
Garcia called compelling a member of Trump’s family to testify “an enormous task” but “one that we’re going to be aggressive on.” He said business associates would be easier to subpoena. “We will get the information, whether it’s directly from the Trumps or through those that engage with them.”
As the committee’s top Democrat, Garcia has sought records involving Trump Jr., Jared Kushner, Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and cryptocurrency deals involving Binance founder Changpeng Zhao, whom Trump pardoned last year. All have denied wrongdoing.
Garcia said the committee would also investigate “abuses” at Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Department of Homeland Security, as well as “anyone that’s ripping off the American public on the corporate side.” He also named Trump’s planned White House ballroom, Triumphal Arch and Reflecting Pool renovation, and Elon Musk’s tenure leading the Department of Government Efficiency as potential subjects.
Some Democrats worry an impeachment effort could distract from the party’s economic and health-care message. Garcia said the party’s first task should be to “slow and stop the Trump agenda,” while legislation on health care and the economy is “everyone else’s job.”
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