Voters demanded change, accountability in midterms

Lisa Gilbert

Submitted photo/InsideSources

Robert Weissman

Submitted photo/InsideSources source

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Organizations and regular people want serious investigative work, follow-up and persistence, connections between corruption and the harms we experience in our day-to-day lives, and, crucially, a focus on corporate as well as administration targets.”

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OPINION — The final two years of Donald Trump's presidency may be the most overwhelming yet.

With the power change in next Congress, the new majority’s key to success will be calling out bad actors, pushing forward bold proposals and clearly demonstrating a “fight mentality” to the American people.

If we were facing a regular lame-duck administration, especially one bleeding public support, we might expect it to start to wind down and focus on discrete legacy projects. However, this administration is far from normal. We should instead expect Trump and his circle of corporate yes-men to double down on corruption and brutality that harms regular people and hits them with cost-of-living challenges and fear from entities such as ICE.

On the plus side, with both chambers changing hands, 2027 will usher in new tools, and a new ability to shape the narrative and address the challenges that face many Americans. Congress will have to seize the opportunity to oversee and investigate the administration and its policies.

According to Gallup, almost 90% of all Americans believe corruption in government is widespread. America tops the charts for its citizens perceiving corruption, outdistancing every other Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development country. A dubious honor.

People want change, and they want accountability. To get that, we need a strong one-two punch: meaningful oversight that exposes abuses of power and holds powerful corporate and political actors accountable, and a clear plan for reforms that improve people’s lives and fixes our democracy.

Civil society is showing the way forward. In October, 66 diverse organizations sent a letter urging Congress to prepare a robust, strategic and effective oversight agenda.

Organizations and regular people want serious investigative work, follow-up and persistence, connections between corruption and the harms we experience in our day-to-day lives, and, crucially, a focus on corporate as well as administration targets.

Choosing the right investigations that connect the dots between Trump administration grift, the enrichment of its Big Business allies and the ramifications for all of us will be key. People will pay attention when the outcomes are connected to the things they are worried about — from healthcare costs, to gas prices, to data centers coming to a neighborhood near you.

Of course, we must pay attention to Trump’s personal profiteering. That’s the simple play, and oversight must go far beyond that. It should expose Trump administration corruption and corporate favoritism, not just to show what’s wrong but to build a public record that lays the groundwork for policy reforms to improve daily life.

Congressional committees should dive into the deals, schemes, favors and payoffs between the administration and specific companies and industries. And they should be prepared to demand answers not just from the administration, which foreseeably will stonewall congressional inquiries, but from corporations and corporate executives who cannot afford to brush aside congressional requests and subpoenas.

A couple of ideas. Let’s do an investigation and hearings on Trump’s secret deals with Big Pharma, which have utterly failed to deliver on the promise of lower drug prices. One out of three U.S. adults ration treatment because of skyrocketing costs, and we should look at the pricing abuses implicit in the administration’s secretive deals with companies.

Or how about a hearing on the Trump Securities and Exchange Commission weakening investment protections for retirement savers? Let’s bring in business groups and companies that are donating to Trump vanity projects while simultaneously pushing to make companies less accountable to retail investors who depend on our 401Ks and pension funds for retirement security.

The list of potential investigations and hearings is long, but the criteria remain constant. Call in the corporations who have been seated at the table the last two years, cross-examine the real-world implications of their executives’ partnership with the administration and apply a Trump corruption overlay.

The American people also want to see congressional leaders pair this oversight agenda with clear, bold policy plans. Putting forth substantive remedies demonstrates even deeper commitment to unrigging our political and economic systems, and these solutions must include systemic reforms to our democracy to keep this kind of corruption from flourishing.

Across the political spectrum, Americans are demanding change and solutions for an economic and political system that they see benefiting the super-rich at their expense. Now it’s time for Congress to respond with an oversight agenda that shines a light on corruption, coupled with policy solutions to address the severe inequality that leaves so many in the richest nation on earth feeling that they can’t afford basic necessities or expect their own government to serve their interests.

Robert Weissman and Lisa Gilbert are co-presidents of Public Citizen, a nonprofit consumer advocacy organization. They wrote this for InsideSources.com. Please submit comments at yourvalley.net/letters or email them to azopinions@iniusa.org. We are committed to publishing a wide variety of reader opinions, as long as they meet our Civility Guidelines.