Rep. Jamie Raskin laid out an ambitious agenda for Democratic reforms if the party regains control of Congress, describing the Trump administration's dismantling of DOJ functions as so extensive that restoring the department will require years of sustained effort.
Appearing on MS NOW, the Maryland Democrat and constitutional expert outlined the scale of what he characterized as institutional destruction. "We need a sweeping de-Trumpification of the Department of Justice. There are huge parts of the DOJ that have just been dismantled," Raskin said.
Raskin detailed specific capabilities the Justice Department has abandoned under Trump:
"When they started off, they said they're no longer going to enforce the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. They've stopped monitoring foreign subversion of American elections. In other words, they want to facilitate all of that," he explained, suggesting the administration has actively worked to enable foreign interference rather than prevent it.
He also highlighted the politicization of the pardon process. "The pardon office was dismantled so it could become a totally political operation run out of the White House and Donald Trump's brain and the political operatives," Raskin stated.
When asked whether Democrats should prioritize impeaching Trump if they retake the House, Raskin aligned with Democratic leadership in rejecting that approach as a distraction.
"Our problem isn't Trump anymore. Our problem is Trumpism and the whole MAGA domination of the government and the conversion of the government into an instrument of money making and profit taking for the corporations and the people who surround Donald Trump," Raskin said.
He acknowledged that while "almost daily impeachable offenses" are occurring, Democrats cannot waste political capital on impeachment when Republicans control Congress. "It doesn't make sense to talk about something right now that we couldn't accomplish, because obviously the Republicans control the house and the senate," he explained.
Raskin framed the Democratic mission as far more expansive than holding Trump personally accountable. "We need to deTrumpify this government and restore it as an instrument for the common good and for American constitutional democracy, rather than the private self enrichment of one guy and his family," he said.
Most strikingly, Raskin characterized the restoration work as generational in scope. "That's the work of a generation. That's not going to happen in three months or six months when we get the House, the Senate and the White House back," he said, tempering expectations about how quickly institutional damage can be repaired.
Raskin emphasized that Democrats are currently winning electoral battles in states like Virginia, New Jersey, California, and Texas, suggesting momentum exists for a broader reclamation effort. "We are in a mass movement to reclaim American government and to defend and rehabilitate our constitution against these people," he concluded.