House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) sent a letter to all House Republican committee chairmen on Thursday, telling them to prepare for possible investigations once Democrats retake the lower chamber of Congress next year.
Scalise warned House Democrats will enact “retribution” against Republicans and launch “countless witch hunts” in the name of “oversight” investigations.
“They will weaponize every single gavel to appease their radical base,” he wrote, per a copy of the letter obtained by the Washington Examiner. “They will use their oversight authorities to harass the President, his family, cabinet officials, and they will seek to destroy our allies. You all will be a key line of defense in this fight, and we must maximize our remaining days in power to prepare for what is coming.”
The House majority leader urged his colleagues to identify investigations launched by Democrats to anticipate which areas the party may investigate in the near future. He also asked them to identify administration officials, programs and authorities, and external allies that may be on House Democrats’ “target list.”
A third impeachment effort against President Donald Trump may materialize with Democrats in power in the House and Senate, but Scalise noted that “they will not stop there.”
The chairmen who received the letter were also tasked with figuring out how recent Supreme Court decisions and a legal opinion issued by the administration in August “will factor into oversight going forward,” Scalise said.
The congressman directed his staff to prepare meetings with the House Republican committee chairmen, administration officials, and other partners outside of Congress to prepare for the next Democrat-controlled Congress.
“I have full confidence that we will be effective in our efforts to fight back as a team,” Scalise concluded.
HOUSE GOP FACES LEADERSHIP SCRAMBLE AFTER MIDTERM ROMP
In the meantime, House Republicans will hold their leadership elections next Tuesday. Scalise is in the running for House minority leader against House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH), after House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) ruled out a bid for the minority position. Whoever ultimately becomes the minority leader will be the first line of defense against a Democratic speaker, likely House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY).
House Democrats set their leadership elections for Nov. 18 and 19, over one week after House Republicans hold theirs on Nov. 10.
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[ H/T Washington Examiner ]
