Trump faces 'hardball' fight as Dems prep criminal probes for presidential team: analyst

Donald Trump's post-midterm presidency could look like a fight against the Democratic Party on criminal accountability, an analyst has claimed.

The New Republic's Greg Sargent observed that, should the Dems receive a majority in the Senate or House following the November elections, they would have the opportunity to build a case against Trump. Sargent said, "Presumably, you could see Democrats using hardball to seek accountability for Trump world’s crimes and also build in deep protections against more authoritarian rule."

Fellow analyst Brian Beutler suggested that Trump and his administration could do little to stop the Democratic Party from increased oversight into cabinet decisions after the election.

He said, "So in the immediate term, it entails fighting with the Trump administration over congressional oversight, right? Because winning the election doesn’t give them the power to conduct police investigations, they have to control the presidency for that.

"So in 2027 and 2028, it’s going to mean they’re going to have to do oversight more aggressively than they did in Trump’s first term, when they had Congress in 2019.

"And they’re going to have to be prepared for him to try to essentially embargo oversight—to say that he won’t cooperate with any Democratic oversight, it’s all illegitimate, sort of like a version of all elections I lose are rigged.

"What can they do about that? They need to get comfortable with large segments of the government being defunded if people in agencies, leaders in agencies, are following Trump’s orders not to comply with proper oversight—then those offices are going to have to be shut down until they start following the law, essentially.

"And then they’re going to have to go around the executive branch by subpoenaing the corporate entities that have bribed Trump, or quote-unquote settled with Trump, or worked hand in glove with Trump in some cases."

Political analysts had previously flagged the funding for Trump's White House ballroom and the push for the SAVE Act to be passed into law as examples of what Sargent described as "authoritarian rule".

The SAVE Act would end mail-only voter registration, implement nationwide photo ID requirements, and restrict mail-in ballots. Democratic lawmakers denounce it as voter suppression legislation.