Live updates from the 2026 midterm elections as Democrats prepare to enter Congress and GOP grapples with stunning losses

Rep. Robert Garcia of California, who will chair the House Oversight Committee in the next Congress, outlined four areas on which the committee will focus its investigative efforts.

The overall investigations focus on the Trump family’s business dealings, corporate corruption, actions by the Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and the Jeffrey Epstein scandal.

“I think the people who should be concerned first are the administration officials who caused real harm. We’re going to investigate the abuse,” Garcia said at a news conference Wednesday, pointing to Stephen Miller, Corey Lewandowski, Kristi Noem and members of the Trump family.

Garcia acknowledged that the Justice Department is unlikely to prosecute people who refuse to cooperate, but said House Democrats could pursue it in civil court.

Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer, meanwhile, called the midterm elections a “generational remaking of the Senate map” but said his party’s most important task was to respond to voters’ mandate by “proving to us that we are worthy of their trust.”

Laying out the party’s plans starting next year, the minority leader said: “Whenever Trump defies the will of the American people or the law, we will launch investigations, take him to court and entangle him in legislative barbed wire.” »

Many Democrats in Congress will likely be enthusiastic about investigating the Trump administration. But a new moderate Democratic senator, Adam Hamilton of Kansas, told CBS News he wants to spend more time on the cost of living and other issues than on investigations or impeachments. “I don’t want to spend the next two years on trial.”

Asked about the potential for Democratic-led investigations, White House spokeswoman Lauren Bis said: “As the president has said, he is willing to work with anyone to continue delivering victories for American workers. If Democrats choose to pursue sham investigations and radical left-wing policies, they are choosing to work against the American people.”