With Election Day just two days away, President Donald Trump’s White House has quietly spent months getting ready for a scenario it publicly insists won’t happen: Democrats taking control of Congress.
According to a Reuters report published Sunday morning, which cites a White House official and two people familiar with the plans, senior aides have been building a playbook to keep major parts of Trump’s agenda moving through executive power, while also preparing for a wave of congressional investigations.
Who is behind the planning
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 take without congressional approval, the three people told Reuters. They spoke on the condition of anonymity.
White House counsel Will Scharf and his team are also looking at “what Trump can legally do on his own, where he could push the limits of his authority and how to defend those decisions in court,” the White House official said.
Trump has been briefed on the preparations and has taken part in discussions about them, the official said. Asked how comfortable Trump would be governing through executive authority under a Democratic Congress, one of the people answered: “very comfortable.”
What is on the table
Among the actions under consideration, according to the White House official:
- New tariffs on imports of critical minerals and wind turbines
- Tighter visa rules for international students and temporary foreign workers
- Measures aimed at lowering housing and construction costs
Federal agencies have submitted proposals and legal reviews of actions the administration could take on its own, one person said. Vought, whose Office of Management and Budget oversees federal spending, is examining which priorities can move forward using money Congress has already appropriated. He also wants to change federal grant rules to give political appointees more say over which government programs receive taxpayer money, two of the people said.
The stakes on Tuesday
Democrats need a net gain of four seats in the House, as well as gains in the Senate, to overturn Republicans’ narrow 218-214 and 53-47 majorities. Polls favor Democrats to win the House, while the Senate remains too close to call.
A Democratic Congress could investigate the administration, block legislation and constrain spending. A Democratic Senate could also block Trump’s judicial and executive-branch nominees, including any Supreme Court pick. But Trump would keep broad authority over trade, foreign policy and the federal bureaucracy, and he could veto Democratic bills. Democrats are unlikely to have enough House votes to override a veto.
Trump has already leaned heavily on executive power in his second term, using it to impose sweeping tariffs, intensify immigration enforcement, shrink the federal workforce and pursue foreign-policy goals, including the war against Iran, without new laws. He has also repeatedly invoked national emergencies. Congress can vote to end those emergencies, but Trump could veto that move, which would take two-thirds majorities in both chambers to override.
“President Trump in the last two years has basically ignored Congress and tried to do as much as possible through executive orders and executive power,” Nathan Gonzales, editor at the nonpartisan Inside Elections, told Reuters. “I think he will only continue if there are Democratic majorities.”
Bracing for subpoenas
One thing executive action can’t get around is congressional investigations. Senior House Democrats and committee aides have discussed using hearings, subpoenas and document requests to examine whether Trump has used his power to benefit himself, allies or donors, Reuters has previously reported.
White House lawyers have been briefing political appointees and agency leaders on how to handle inquiries, document requests and subpoenas, and have advised officials to be careful about what they put in writing, one person said. They also sought a Justice Department opinion that could let Trump invoke executive privilege to shield his communications with private advisers from congressional scrutiny.
The White House response
The White House pushed back on the prospect of Republican losses and accused the media of promoting a false narrative. “This administration and commonsense Republicans will continue to secure our borders, restore law and order, putting more money back into the pockets of hard-working Americans, and deliver wins for the American people,” spokeswoman Lauren Bis said.
Voters head to the polls Tuesday, Nov. 3.