The White House Counsel’s Office is giving private briefings to the administration’s political appointees on how to best prepare for congressional oversight as staff begin to brace for the likelihood of significant Democratic victories in the November midterm elections, according to two people briefed on the topic.
The roughly 30-minute briefings have included a PowerPoint presentation about how congressional oversight works and best practices for handling it, according to the two people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly. Staff from the counsel’s office have encouraged political appointees to be careful about what they put in writing and provided guidance for how to respond to congressional inquiries in a timely manner, the people said.
“It’s obvious to everyone that it’s very likely,” said one of the two officials, who attended a private briefing, referring to the possibility of Republicans losing at least one chamber come November. “It was a sober-eyed conversation.”
A White House official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations, said the counsel’s office “has provided guidance to relevant stakeholders to ensure oversight compliance and that best practices are followed since January 2025.”
“This is nothing new,” the official said.
But the more recent briefings, at least some of which have occurred over the past month, have taken place in a very different context and have “a strong overtone” of the midterms, said one of the two people who spoke to The Washington Post.
At least some staff members have considered the briefings preparatory, given the growing sense across the Trump administration that the Republican Party is in trouble and that the time has come to prepare for worst-case scenarios.
President Donald Trump’s popularity continues to sagunder the economic strain created by the Iran war, among other key issues. Democrats hold a five-point advantage on the question of which party people favor in House elections, up from a two-point edge in February and October, a Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos poll found.
The president and scores of his staff members lived through years of congressional subpoenas, depositions and investigations during his first term and are highly sensitive to what they considered to be an unjust and illegal witch hunt. Democrats, meanwhile, after months of sidestepping the topic, renewed calls for Trump’s impeachment after he threatened to wipe out Iranian civilization.
Trump has acknowledged the GOP’s electoral vulnerability, repeatedly saying in public appearances that the incumbent party hardly ever wins the midterms. He has also stressed the stakes of the races.
“You got to win the midterms, because if we don’t win the midterms, they’ll find a reason to impeach me,” Trump said in January. “I’ll get impeached.”
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