Democrats line up subpoenas for Trump family businesses and a possible Hegseth impeachment

Democrats who won control of Congress on Tuesday were calling for both chambers to flex their new subpoena power before the dust had settled¹¹. The party plans to focus on affordability and on corruption probes, while Republicans grappled with what one senior figure called “a generational wipeout”¹⁰. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Elon Musk, a former top Trump adviser, are among possible targets for investigations⁹.

Hegseth faces a likely impeachment vote, and he is not the only official at risk^2,3. He has been accused of waging an unauthorized war in Iran². Hegseth appears to be a more likely target for impeachment than others, and if Democrats pursue that effort, it could draw support from members of Congress⁶. “Yes, we’re going to go after Hegseth,” DeLauro told supporters to cheers⁴.

Sen. Thom Tillis, a North Carolina Republican, said Hegseth faces “a reckoning” in the post-election lame-duck session of Congress¹. Earlier this year, Senate Republicans had already moved to tighten the screws on Hegseth⁷.

Why it matters to investors

The Trump family’s businesses are first in line for subpoenas, and World Liberty Financial, the family’s crypto company, is likely to be the first¹⁴. Scrutiny of tech chief executives is also on the agenda¹¹. Among the House plans, Smith intends to probe the administration’s defense budget, and the House Homeland Security and Education and Workforce committees are also preparing their own work¹³.

Hegseth faces criticism over the Iran war, military leadership shake-ups and earlier security controversies⁸. Coverage of what the results mean for foreign policy recalled that George W. Bush replaced Donald Rumsfeld as secretary of defense⁵.

What to watch

Democrats are debating how hard to push, after the campaign had already opened a new season of investigations¹². Scaramucci said Hegseth may not survive the week⁸. Whether Hegseth stays in office, and how quickly committees issue subpoenas to the Trump family’s businesses, will show how aggressively the new majorities use their powers^1,14.

The investigations also bear on foreign policy. Trump’s loss of power over Congress has implications for the conduct of the Iran war and for Ukraine policy, and questions over Hegseth’s future surfaced immediately after the results⁵. Republican warnings such as Tillis’s suggest pressure on Hegseth will not come from Democrats alone^1,7.