Democratic-aligned groups and strategists are urging the party’s incoming congressional leaders to tie investigations of companies to the cost of living, aiming to make oversight address voters’ economic concerns.
The network said a poll by Groundwork Collaborative and Hart Research was shared exclusively with it. Two in three voters rated investigations of corporate greed a high priority, compared with 58% for inquiries into President Donald Trump’s personal corruption, CNBC reported.
Groundwork Collaborative Senior Vice President Alex Jacquez told CNBC that Democrats’ 2019 impeachment effort offered a political lesson. “The issue never really resonated for people,” Jacquez said.
In a Nov. 4 statement, Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden said the panel’s next-Congress agenda would cover affordability, taxes, health care and trade, as well as scrutiny of banks, insurers and pharmaceutical companies. He summed up the priorities as “affordability for us, accountability for them.” Wyden also accused banks of helping cover up Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes, insurers of delaying or denying care for profit, and pharmaceutical companies of price gouging.
Rep. Robert Garcia, who is set to chair the House Oversight Committee, has named several areas for scrutiny. The House Oversight Democrats’ statement said these included the “Trump Crime Family,” the “cover-up of the Epstein files,” corporate corruption, and abuses by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). After Democrats secured a House majority, Garcia’s statement closed with “Lawyer up.”
The Associated Press reported that a Congressional Integrity Project memo urged Democrats to connect corruption investigations to household costs and identify people and companies that might profit from administration actions.
The new Congress is due to open in January, when incoming leaders are expected to take their committee posts.
