Waving mini American flags on the steps of the Capitol, Democrats unveiled an anti-corruption agenda Monday, vowing to conduct oversight of President Trump and his Cabinet if they capture the majority in 2018.
The measures are the latest in the sweeping Better Deal agenda that includes an economic package proposing wage increases and a $1 trillion infrastructure investment. The anti-corruption message will focus on the culture in Washington that prioritizes lobbyists and corporations.
Leaders have advised their members to not focus too much on the Russia investigation and Trump’s payments to a porn star in exchange for silence just months out from the 2016 election, fearful it could turn voters off. But the anti-corruption to-do list released Monday provides a blueprint for candidates on how to talk about the potential ethics violations by Trump’s Cabinet members and Trump’s possible violations of the emoluments clause.
Though none of the Democrats mentioned Russia or recent revelations that Trump’s campaign met with a Gulf emissary offering to help Trump’s presidential bid, their new proposal makes clear they want to be a check on the administration.
“Democrats are here to take the fight for our democracy to the steps of the Capitol,” said House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. “The American people are confronted with one of the most compromised, corrupt administrations in history. Instead of delivering on it’s promise to drain the swamp, President Trump has become the swamp.”
Pelosi, joined by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and a handful of other House and Senate Democrats, announced the details of the package Monday. The measures would strengthen ethics laws, tighten laws on lobbying disclosures, target dark money, and protecting voting rights.
“The needs of middle-class and working-class families in America shouldn’t be put on the back burner while those who pay millions of dollars to the president’s personal attorney are seen to first,” said Schumer. “We’re going to close the [Trump personal attorney Michael] Cohen loophole so the president’s cronies can’t sell access to the highest bidder. We need to get big money out of politics.”
Cohen is the subject of a criminal investigation by the Southern District of New York. The FBI raided his office last month. Companies paid Cohen, who never registered as a lobbyist, millions to get access to Trump and his inner circle during the campaign, according to recent financial disclosures.
Though Democrats are hoping to flip both chambers in November, their chances of taking the Senate are slim. They’re defending 10 seats in states Trump won. The House on the other hand, is in play and Democrats maintain an advantage.
If they take the House, Democrats will be able to look into Trump’s financial dealings. Hinting at the possible emoluments violations, Rep. Cheri Bustos, D-Ill., pointed to a Trump property one mile away form the Capitol.
“There’s no bigger revolving door than right down the street at Trump International Hotel,” Bustos said. “President Trump in his first year in office pocketed $40 million off that hotel.
Staying in the Franklin suite, Bustos said, costs $5,500.
“What does that $5,500 buy the people who are staying in that room? Well they get to help write a tax scam that will help their closest buddies,” she said. “It is time to slam that door shut on pay-to-play politics.”
