Democrats gear up for investigations, while Republicans panic
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In the wake of President Trump’s historic, humiliating, crushing midterm trouncing, his most loyal followers are doing what could reasonably be expected from such a fine, upstanding bunch — variously jumping ship, backstabbing and doubling down on sycophancy and lies.
With dizzying speed, the Trump era has been upended by this democratic Democratic revolt, and not even the staunchest of MAGA supporters seem to know what to do — not even the president himself.
The big man met his defeat with unusual equanimity on Wednesday, promising to work with Democrats, who most certainly have other ideas in mind. By Thursday, the president was complaining about daylight saving time, and bragging about home improvements, offering media members a tour of the White House ballroom construction, a peek at the emperor’s new granite, if you will. For Trump, at least, it was as if the election had never happened.
But with Democrats gearing up an avalanche of investigations, those in Trump’s orbit clearly know it’s going to be a dark winter.
Let’s check in with the jumpers, the stabbers and the bottom kissers to see what they’re up to.
Sinking ship
It’s not unusual for top government officials to skedaddle after a midterm election. The two-year mark offers a somewhat elegant exit for those who have suddenly decided to spend more time with family.
So it was little surprise when Trump’s legal lapdog Harmeet Dhillon announced Thursday that she was resigning from her job as the head of the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice. Someone had to be first, and it doesn’t shock me that it was one of the few women left in the administration.
Under her tenure, civil rights were dismantled, which is not historically what the office is for. The agency was hollowed out of the nonpartisan legal experts who made a career serving government — more than 75% of the staff left. Instead, she wielded her power to, as she proudly put it, destroy diversity, equity and inclusion — making observers such as myself wonder whether she actually understood what civil rights are.
“Harmeet Dhillon has been the most destructive, lawless, and hateful head of the Civil Rights Division in DOJ history,” said Stacey Young, founder of Justice Connection, a group that supports current and former civil servants driven to near-insanity by the lawlessness of the Trump era. Young served in the Civil Rights office herself, across the administrations of five presidents.
“After she upended the division’s mission-critical work, the civil servants who dedicated their careers to protecting vulnerable communities were instead told to target them — and more than three-quarters of the division’s lawyers left,” Young continued in a statement. “Dhillon wielded the enormous power of the Justice Department to threaten universities, state and local officials, and election workers in spurious cases that rarely won in court.”
Rarely won in court is the key part there, because for all her vitriol and energy, Dhillon mostly lost when an actual judge was involved. But CBS reported her near-perfect losing streak wasn’t what ultimately drew Trump’s ire — it was her performance on “60 Minutes.”
So we know the ship is sinking — did Dhillon jump or was she pushed? Either way, buh-bye.
The knife-wielder
Leave it to Vice President JD Vance to stab someone in the back the moment it seems convenient. In the run-up to the election, Vance doubled down on every hateful thing he could lay his hands on.
He came out in support of Vivek Ramaswamy’s smarmy ad that used his opponent’s childhood rape as ammunition. He supercharged his racist attacks on Black immigrants, claiming illegal Somali voters were going to “flood” the polls.
Then, when the blue tsunami washed all that garbage away, he posted a long missive on social media explaining how the loss had nothing to do with the economy, or gas prices, or out-of-control ICE agents. It was all about Iran.
“The reason we lost is the war,” Vance wrote. “The president himself said so last night.”
That would be Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s war, you know, the belligerent, pec-flexing Trump sycophant whose name has also been floated as a presidential contender, God help us all. In truth, a Hegseth run is the only possible thing that could make Vance look good at this point.
But snakes gonna slither, so Vance (who, to be fair, was never that into this war) is using the moment to subtly blame Hegseth, and the blow seems to have landed, with his party, and with his boss.
Asked about Vance’s take, Trump said he agreed the war caused the midterm loss, but he had “no choice.” Now, there are rumblings that Hegseth’s days are numbered.
Kissy, kissy
Hegseth, meanwhile, doubled down Thursday on his crazy he-man routine. I mean, honestly, it’s alarming that this guy is making decisions about lunch, much less war.
In a five-minute video filmed with some kind of Nixon-era filter, Hegseth rambled between sucking up to Trump, making it seem like the war is going great, personal grievance that he might be held accountable for the war, and just making weird, scary pronouncements.
Here’s three of my top picks:
“Narco-terrorists should die, not be caught and released,” he said, apparently promoting extrajudicial executions.
“This is not about me, but of course the other side, in case you’ve noticed, they’re obsessed,” he said shortly after, referring to his side, in fact, and the threat by Kentucky Republican Rep. Thomas Massie (who has long been a thorn in Hegseth’s side) to impeach Hegseth if he doesn’t resign.
“A disgruntled, defeated congressman, along with all his Democrat allies, has also dropped sham articles of impeachment against yours truly, just like they tried against President Trump twice,” Hegseth complained. “It’s all about the politics of personal destruction. Didn’t work against President Trump, and it won’t work with me.”
Well, we’ll see, Pete.
But what about the Dems?
Meanwhile, literally every Democrat ever was busy working on which investigations they will pursue once the new, blue Congress is sworn in.
Chief among those was California’s own Robert Garcia, the Long Beach congressman who will now be the chair of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. Garcia has been waiting for this moment for a long time, and he’s ready.
It’s “critical that we take on corruption at the White House, that we take on corruption at places like ICE and DHS,” Garcia told me, referring to Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Department of Homeland Security.
And as the Democrats do that, there’s only going to be more scurrying in Trump’s top ranks.
What else you should be reading:
The must-read: A ‘tidal wave’ of severe eye disease is looming. It starts with childhood nearsightedness
The California angle: Nithya Raman defeats Bass to become next L.A. mayor
The L.A. Times Special: Newsom wants to empty death row. Most politicians wouldn’t bother — or dare
Stay Golden,
Anita Chabria
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Ideas expressed in the piece
- The column casts Democrats’ sweeping midterm victory as a repudiation of Trump and a sign of disarray among Republicans, who are now publicly disputing responsibility for the loss. The results gave Democrats control of both chambers of Congress, while Trump said he did not view the outcome as a rebuke of his presidency.[6]
- On Harmeet Dhillon’s resignation, the article argues that her leadership weakened the Civil Rights Division and redirected it from its traditional mission. That criticism is echoed in reporting that more than three-quarters of the division’s staff departed and that the Justice Department lost 27 cases seeking voter rolls.[1]
- The column portrays JD Vance’s attribution of the defeat to the Iran war as an effort to distance himself from the administration’s decisions and shift blame toward Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. Vance did publicly identify the war as the reason Republicans lost, while also citing voters’ concerns about living costs and foreign policy.[4][5]
- The article treats Hegseth’s comments about military action and proposed impeachment as signs that his conduct warrants scrutiny. Democrats have said they intend to investigate the administration, including its handling of the war and the Pentagon.[7][11]
- The column supports an assertive congressional oversight agenda, quoting incoming Oversight Committee chair Robert Garcia on investigations into alleged corruption at the White House and in federal agencies. Garcia has also outlined probes into immigration enforcement and other administration actions.[7][10]
Different views on the topic
- Trump has played down the election as a personal rebuke, saying Republicans would have won if he had been on the ballot, while also expressing willingness to work with Democrats. He has said the Iran war was one factor in the result but defended the decision, arguing that preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon justified it.[6][8]
- Dhillon has presented her departure as voluntary and planned before the election, saying she had accomplished what she set out to do and intended to return to private practice. Attorney General Todd Blanche praised her leadership, while Dhillon described ending DEI policies and defending gun rights among her accomplishments.[1][2]
- The White House has cast the prospect of Democratic investigations as partisan obstruction, arguing that Democrats lack an agenda to improve people’s lives and would use oversight to target Trump. It has also said the administration is prepared to respond to congressional oversight.[9]
- Trump has rejected the suggestion that Hegseth should leave, saying he intends to keep the defense secretary and that Hegseth is doing a good job.[3]
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