Bracing for what appears to be an inevitable Democratic takeover of Congress after November’s midterms, the Trump White House is already preparing for a barrage of investigations and hearings by holding secretive briefings with executive branch staff on how to handle aggressive congressional oversight. According to reporting from The New Republic, attorneys at the White House Counsel’s Office are conducting private briefings to ready staff for life under Democratic-led scrutiny. The Washington Post first reported on the strategy Monday. The 30-minute briefings feature a PowerPoint presentation detailing how congressional oversight works and best practices for navigating it. The sessions also include guidance on how to respond to congressional inquiries in a timely manner. “It’s obvious to everyone that it’s very likely,” one official who attended the briefings told the Post. “It was a sober-eyed conversation.” A White House official sought to minimize the importance of the meetings, claiming they represent “nothing new” and that the counsel’s office has provided oversight guidance to staffers since Trump returned to office. However, multiple sources who spoke with the Post indicated that recent meetings with the counsel’s office were acutely focused on the midterm elections and their anticipated fallout — suggesting the White House expects significant losses.
According to the The New Republic’s Ellie Quinlan Houghtaling, Trump’s declining approval ratings are fueling expectations of a Democratic wave. Sixty-two percent of Americans disapprove of the president, according to an ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos poll published Friday — an increase of two percentage points since February. Despite his waning influence, Trump has placed enormous pressure on his party to win, acutely aware of the consequences he would face if Democrats gain control of Congress, the report notes before adding, Democratic-led committees would have subpoena power to investigate his administration’s actions on multiple fronts.
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