Trump White House Maps Path to Govern Without Congress If Democrats Win the Midterms, Reuters Reports
The White House has spent months preparing to advance the president's agenda through executive power if Democrats take Congress on Tuesday — work led by Stephen Miller and Russell Vought since April on tariffs, immigration, housing and federal spending — while bracing for Democratic investigations it cannot sidestep, according to Reuters.
President Donald Trump's White House has spent months preparing for a possible Democratic takeover of Congress, developing plans to keep advancing major parts of his agenda through executive power while bracing for investigations of his administration, according to a White House official and two people familiar with the plans, Reuters reported Sunday. Senior officials including deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller and budget director Russell Vought have worked with the White House Counsel's Office since April to identify executive actions on immigration, tariffs, housing costs and federal spending that Trump could pursue without congressional approval, the three people told Reuters. White House counsel Will Scharf and his team are also looking at what Trump can legally do on his own, where he could push the limits of his authority and how to defend those decisions in court, the White House official said.
The stakes are set by Tuesday's margins. Democrats need a net gain of four seats to overturn Republicans' narrow 218-214 House majority and must also win the Senate, where Republicans hold 53-47; opinion polls favor Democrats to win the House while the Senate remains too close to call, per Reuters. Among the executive actions under consideration are new tariffs on imports of critical minerals and wind turbines, tighter rules on visas for international students and temporary foreign workers, and measures aimed at lowering housing and construction costs, the White House official told Reuters. Budget director Vought is examining which priorities can move forward using money already appropriated by Congress, and wants to change federal grant rules to give political appointees more say over which programs receive taxpayer money, two of the people said. Asked how comfortable Trump would be governing through executive authority under a Democratic Congress, one of the people said, 'very comfortable.' The White House pushed back on the prospect of Republican losses: spokeswoman Lauren Bis said the administration and 'commonsense Republicans will continue to secure our borders, restore law and order' and deliver wins, per Reuters.
One challenge cannot be sidestepped through executive action, Reuters reported: congressional investigations. Senior House Democrats and committee aides have discussed using hearings, subpoenas and document requests to examine whether Trump has used presidential power to benefit himself, allies or donors, Reuters previously reported, and Trump aides have been preparing for months — White House lawyers briefing appointees on handling inquiries and seeking a Justice Department opinion that could let Trump invoke executive privilege over communications with private advisers. Control of the Senate would also let Democrats block Trump's judicial and executive-branch nominees, including any Supreme Court pick, while courts could block executive actions that exceed his legal authority, per the Reuters account.
