Democrats Plan Avalanche of Subpoenas For Trump Admin: ‘Lawyer Up’ - Newsweek

Several Democrats have issued warnings to Trump administration officials that they will face summonses to appear before congressional committees once the party takes control of both chambers in January.

In a series of posts on X, Democrats including Oregon Senator Ron Wyden and Illinois Representative Delia Ramirez said they would be subpoenaing key figures, including those involved in immigration enforcement—Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Markwayne Mullin, his predecessor Kristi Noem and border czar Tom Homan.

"Clear your schedule," Ramirez wrote, while New Jersey Representative Analilia Mejia said, "We’re going to toss out subpoenas like Mardi Gras beads."

California U.S. Representative Robert Garcia, poised to take over leadership of the House Oversight Committee, wrote Tuesday night, "LAWYER UP."

Democrats have sought to hold Trump administration officials to account over what they view as executive overreach over the past two years, with Republican representatives and senators, at times, notably missing committee hearings examining immigration enforcement.

There have also been heated clashes between members of Congress and President Donald Trump's Cabinet, including when former Attorney General Pam Bondi was confronted over the Department of Justice's budget proposals earlier this year.

“As the President has said, he's willing to work with anyone to continue delivering victories for hardworking Americans," Lauren Bis, White House spokesperson, told Newsweek. "If Democrats choose to pursue sham investigations and radical left policies, they are choosing to work against the American people.”

A White House official also told Newsweek that Democrats should remember that the Trump administration still controls the federal government and all of its powers.

Newsweek reached out the ranking member of the Senate Homeland Security Committee and Garcia's office for comment via email Wednesday afternoon.

Ramirez specifically mentioned Noem, Mullin, Homan, former Customs and Border Protection (CBP) chief Gregory Bovino and White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller.

All have been heavily involved in the Trump administration's immigration enforcement efforts.

Miller, who also served in Trump's first White House, is one of the key architects of the administration's immigration policies. There have been multiple reports that he has implemented targets for arrests of alleged illegal immigrants and deportations. He has also posted repeatedly to X about enforcement operations.

Bovino was among the leading figures in the sweeping U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations in Los Angeles, Chicago and Minnesota. During the latter, two U.S. citizens—Renee Good and Alex Pretti—were killed by federal agents. Bovino left the administration shortly after protests broke out across the country in response to their deaths.

DHS referred Newsweek to a post on X by its General Counsel James Percival, who said, "It is unfortunate that Democrats are more interested in political shenanigans than in governing. Rest assured, however, that we are well prepared to deal with this nonsense so Secretary Mullin can continue focusing on protecting the homeland."

Mississippi Representative Bennie G. Thompson, current ranking member of the House Committee on Homeland Security, wrote to Mullin Wednesday, asking him to ensure DHS was complying with "all document preservation requirements," following Tuesday's election results.

In a letter shared with Newsweek, Thompson reminded Mullin that the law required DHS to preserve official materials, including social media posts by department officials.

"The Committee intends to closely observe the compliance of the Department—and all its components—with these preservation requirements," Thompson wrote. "The Committee expects to receive by November 11, 2026, assurances, in writing, that Departmental records, documents, data, and information have not been and will not be destroyed, modified, removed, transferred, or otherwise rendered inaccessible."

David Bier, the Cato Institute's director of immigration studies, who has appeared for multiple immigration-related committee hearings, told Newsweek he expects more answers in January.

"We will learn a lot, and they will have to answer for what has happened," he said. "That could lead to some changes to blunt the negative press, but real accountability will require statutory changes to allow for lawsuits."

Congress has broad investigative authority tied to its legislative responsibilities, with the House and Senate committees exercising powers delegated to them on specific policy areas, such as immigration, justice and finance.

Committees routinely start with letters seeking documents, written responses, briefings or voluntary testimony, such as in the letter from Thompson.

If a department or individual fails to comply with that request, a committee can then issue a subpoena for documents or witnesses, making the request compulsory. Failing to honor a subpoena could lead to a contempt case.

A subpoena does not guarantee the information will be handed over or questions answered, however, with officials sometimes asserting executive privilege, which allows materials and information to be withheld.

"DOJ officials are not afraid of threats from Democrats on the Hill: we have followed the law and will continue to do so," a Department of Justice spokesperson told Newsweek. "It is no surprise that rather than focus on bringing down costs for Americans, Democrats in Congress are picking up where their weaponization efforts left off when they were last in power."

Newsweek’s reporters and editors used Martyn, our AI assistant, to produce this story. Learn more about Martyn here. Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Samantha Beech and Edward T. Cummins