Democrats plan probes of Musk, Miller, corporate America after midterm rout

WASHINGTON, Nov 8 (Reuters) - Tech megabillionaire Elon Musk and President Donald Trump's newly appointed White House chief of staff, Stephen Miller, and some large companies will likely be targets of congressional probes when Democrats take control of Congress in January, senior lawmakers said on Sunday.

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By Tim Reid

In television appearances, US Representative Robert Garcia of California and US Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, set to lead the House Oversight and Senate Banking committees, vowed aggressive oversight after their party's sweeping midterm election victory.

Meanwhile, House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries indicated he and his fellow Democrats would back an impeachment of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

Garcia, who is the ranking Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, said investigations will focus on Musk's involvement in the Department of Government Efficiency's firing of federal workers last year, and Miller's role in Trump's hardline immigration crackdown.

"I think there's a lot of interest, not just from our committee, but from committees across the Congress to speak to Mr. Musk," Garcia told CNN's "State of the Union."

Warren said some companies should be ready for congressional investigations. She did not name any of the companies.

"If you've been making your profits by cheating American families and scamming your investors, you'd better get ready for some investigations, serious ones," Warren told CBS's "Face the Nation" program.

DEMOCRATS FOCUS ON MILLER, HEGSETH

Miller — whom Garcia called the architect of a "horrific, unjust" immigration policy — has been promoted to White House chief of staff.

"Stephen Miller is at the center of the major policy decisions that are happening in the administration, and so it does deserve oversight and investigation," Garcia told CNN.

Voters delivered a historic rebuke to Republicans in Tuesday's midterm election, but with Miller as White House chief of staff, the Trump administration is expected to ‌continue its aggressive approach to immigration enforcement, amplify cultural conflicts and give no ground to a Democratic-controlled Congress, say officials and experts who spoke to Reuters.

The crackdown on immigration, which included operations in which two people were fatally shot in Minnesota by federal agents, has proven widely unpopular. A Reuters/Ipsos poll in October found that only 37% approved of Trump's handling of immigration, down from 50% when he took office.

Jeffries, who will become speaker of the US House in January, said on Sunday that Democrats would support a measure to impeach Hegseth, a congressional process that could remove him from office.

Representative Thomas Massie, a Kentucky Republican and Trump critic who leaves Congress in January after a Trump-backed primary defeat this year, has said he will reintroduce articles of impeachment against ​Hegseth soon. Jeffries said he is a "hard yes" on backing that measure.

"Pete Hegseth has got to go," Jeffries told ABC's "This Week," citing the defense secretary's oversight of the unpopular Iran war launched by Trump in February, which has led to a spike in gas prices.

"I believe there will be incredibly strong support for that resolution," Jeffries added.

Attorney General Todd Blanche signaled on Sunday that the Trump administration was prepared to battle the Democrats in Congress, calling threats by some Democrats to target administration officials and allies "not something we can tolerate in this country."

"If that's what this new incoming leadership wants to do, we are ready," said Blanche, a former personal lawyer for Trump. "If you work in this administration, you have a lawyer. It's me."

(Reporting by Tim Reid in Washington; Additional reporting by Abigail Summerville, Brad Heath and Tom Polansek; Editing by Sergio Non and Nia Williams)

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