‘Lawyer Up’: Democrats Target Trump Family and Big Tech After Midterm Sweep

Democratic lawmakers said Big Tech executives and members of U.S. President Donald Trump’s business circle should expect subpoenas and investigations when the new Congress takes office in January. According to Cointelegraph, the warnings came as Democrats secured control of Congress in a sweeping victory on Tuesday. Sen. Ed Markey, a member of the Senate Commerce Committee, said technology executives would face a large number of subpoenas. Rep. Robert Garcia, the expected incoming House Oversight Committee chairman, said he planned to investigate what he called the “Trump Crime Family,” corporate corruption, alleged abuses by the Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and the handling of the Epstein files. Garcia ended his remarks with the warning, “Lawyer up.” During the mid-term election campaign, Democrats had criticized Big Tech’s growing political influence, the rapid expansion of artificial intelligence, the electricity needs of data centers, safeguards for AI products and technology executives’ ties to Trump. Punchbowl News reported on Wednesday that executives close to Trump, including Elon Musk, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, could face scrutiny from the House Oversight, House Energy and Commerce, and Senate Commerce committees. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei were also identified as potential witnesses who could be questioned about their companies’ AI products. Trump’s crypto dealings were another focus of Democratic campaign attacks. Candidates, including Virginia Sen. Mark Warner, cited his memecoin earnings as part of allegations of corruption and self-enrichment. At a press conference on Wednesday, Garcia described the alleged corruption as unprecedented and said Trump’s crypto venture was making billions of dollars while the president’s family grew richer. House Judiciary Democrats published a November 2025 staff report alleging that Trump used the presidency to enrich his family through crypto ventures connected to foreign interests, while weakening enforcement and anti-corruption safeguards. The committee has scrutinized Trump’s crypto businesses. House Judiciary Democrats have also begun advertising for counsel and professional staff for the next Congress, including positions focused on oversight and investigations.