Trump White House Maps a Path to Govern Without Congress if Democrats Win the Midterms, Reuters Reports
The White House has spent months preparing executive actions on immigration, tariffs, housing and spending in case Democrats take Congress on Tuesday, while also bracing for investigations, Reuters reported Sunday.
President Donald Trump's White House has spent months preparing for a possible Democratic takeover of Congress, developing plans to keep advancing major parts of his agenda through executive power while bracing for investigations of his administration, Reuters reported on Sunday, Nov. 1, citing a White House official and two people familiar with the plans.
Senior officials, including deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller and budget director Russell Vought, have been working with the White House Counsel's Office since April to identify executive actions on immigration, tariffs, housing costs and federal spending that Trump could pursue without congressional approval, the three people told Reuters. White House counsel Will Scharf and his team are also looking at the legal ground for those actions. Reuters noted that Trump has repeatedly invoked national emergencies to expand his ability to act without new legislation, and that senior House Democrats and committee aides have discussed using hearings, subpoenas and document requests to examine whether Trump has used presidential power to benefit himself, allies or donors — a prospect Trump's aides have been preparing for.
The planning frames what is at stake on Tuesday for Palm Beach County voters: capturing Congress would give Democrats the power to investigate Trump, block legislation and constrain his spending priorities, but Trump would retain broad executive authority over trade, foreign policy and the federal bureaucracy. Opinion polls favor Democrats to win the House, while the Senate remains too close to call, according to Reuters. The White House pushed back on the prospect of Republican losses and accused the media of promoting a false narrative, and Trump has been briefed on the preparations and has taken part in the discussions, the White House official said.
