REPORTER: Are you worried about getting hit with a blizzard of subpoenas now that Dems control the House?
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) November 7, 2018
TRUMP: If that happens, then we are going to do the same thing, and government comes to a halt. And I would blame them. pic.twitter.com/WTKDRETy13
Jason Chaffetz, the Utah congressman wrapping up his first term atop the powerful House Oversight Committee, unendorsed Donald Trump weeks ago. That freed him up to prepare for something else: spending years, come January, probing the record of a President Hillary Clinton.
“It’s a target-rich environment,” the Republican said in an interview in Salt Lake City’s suburbs. “Even before we get to Day One, we’ve got two years’ worth of material already lined up. She has four years of history at the State Department, and it ain’t good.”
In a tweet Wednesday night, Chaffetz reaffirmed his distaste for Clinton and his refusal to endorse Trump — but reversed his plans not to vote for the Republican nominee.
If Republicans retain control of the House, something that GOP-friendly maps make possible even in the event of a Trump loss, Clinton will become the first president since George H.W. Bush to immediately face a House Oversight Committee controlled by the opposition party. (Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama lost Congress later in their presidencies.)
And other Republican leaders say they support Chaffetz’s efforts — raising the specter of more partisan acrimony between them and the White House for the next four years.
“The rigorous oversight conducted by House Republicans has already brought to light troubling developments in the [Hillary] Clinton email scandal,” the office of House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) said in a statement to The Washington Post. “The speaker supports [Oversight’s] investigative efforts following where the evidence leads, especially where it shows the need for changes in the law.”
And the Oversight Committee may not be the only House panel ready for partisan battle. While the Select Committee on Benghazi appears to have finished its work, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), a committee member who says Clinton might have perjured herself on questions about her email, said recently that he wants the committee to continue.
On the campaign trail, Republicans running for every office confidently talk about Clinton facing criminal charges one day.
“Lady Justice doesn’t see black or white,” Rep. Ken Buck (R-Colo.) said Wednesday at a rally in Loveland. “She doesn’t see male or female. She doesn't see rich or poor. But soon, lady Justice will see Hillary Clinton.”
It is the most illiberal statement ever seen on Television by an American President. It is a direct assault on the Founders vision of a Republic where Absolute power is constrained by a system of checks and balances. Trumps bullying, distemper and dishonesty are on full display
— Steve Schmidt (@SteveSchmidtSES) November 7, 2018