House Majority Leader Steve Scalise is warning Republicans that Democrats are already preparing to use their new House majority for political retribution — and he wants the GOP ready before the first subpoena lands.
In a new letter to committee chairmen, Scalise said Democrats may have campaigned on affordability, but their governing priority will be investigations, lawfare and what he called “countless witch hunts” disguised as congressional oversight.
The directive is not a request to sit back and complain. Scalise told House Republicans to identify the investigations Democrats are likely to launch, map the people they may target and study recent Supreme Court decisions that could define the limits of congressional power.
The letter itself lays out just how seriously Republican leaders are taking the threat:
Just the News reports that Scalise specifically asked committee leaders to compile planned and likely investigations, identify potential targets of Democrat lawfare and review Supreme Court rulings that bear on congressional oversight. The warning arrives as Scalise campaigns to lead House Republicans in the next Congress, making preparedness a central test of the next leadership team.
That timing matters. Democrats are not being shy about what they want to do with control of the House.
Incoming Judiciary Chairman Jamie Raskin has already discussed a long list of possible investigations involving President Trump, his family and senior members of the administration.
Republicans have seen this movie before. Two impeachments, years of Russia-collusion hysteria, weaponized prosecutions and endless investigations did not satisfy the Left.
A Democrat-run House now gives the same political machine subpoena power and committee gavels once again.
The question facing Republicans is who will lead the defense.
Roll Call says Scalise and House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan are headed toward a showdown for minority leader after Speaker Mike Johnson decided not to seek a leadership role in the next Congress. The contest pits Scalise’s pitch as an experienced conference organizer against Jordan’s reputation as a conservative fighter who battled the first two attempts to remove President Trump.
House Republicans are expected to choose their new leadership on November 10 in a closed conference election. The winner will immediately face an incoming Democrat majority whose committee leaders are discussing investigations of President Trump, his family and his administration.
Freedom Caucus Chairman Andy Harris made clear which candidate he believes is built for that fight:
Rep. Jim Jordan’s office published Jordan’s own letter to colleagues on Wednesday, formally launching his bid. Jordan argues that Republicans need an offensive strategy against an emboldened Democrat majority, not a leadership team that merely reacts to the crisis of the day.
That pitch will resonate with conservatives who remember Jordan’s role fighting the first two attempts to remove President Trump. Scalise, meanwhile, is presenting himself as a tested leader who can organize the conference, prepare committees and return Republicans to the majority.
Not every Republican is interested in a gentle transition. Rep. Greg Steube publicly demanded a clean break from the leadership team that presided over the loss:
There is no room for denial here. Democrats have told the country what they intend to do, and Republicans have a narrow window to prepare an effective defense of President Trump, his administration and the America First agenda.
Scalise’s warning is exactly right: every committee needs a plan, every potential target needs to understand the battlefield and every Republican needs to decide whether the next two years will be spent surrendering to manufactured scandals or fighting back with facts.
The leadership election will decide who gets that responsibility. The Democrat investigation machine is not waiting for the ballots to be counted.
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[ H/T WLT Report ]
