WASHINGTON, D.C. — In a new op-ed published in the DC Journal, Not Above the Law Co-Chair and Public Citizen Co-President Lisa Gilbert and Public Citizen Co-President Robert Weissman warn that the final two years of the Trump administration “may be the most overwhelming yet.” They argue that the next Congress must answer with oversight that exposes corruption and demonstrates a “fight mentality” to the American people.
The piece warns that Trump and his “circle of corporate yes-men” will “double down on corruption and brutality,” and that Americans have noticed: nearly 90 percent say government corruption is widespread. Gilbert and Weissman call on lawmakers to go beyond Trump’s personal profiteering and expose the deals, favors and payoffs between the administration and its Big Business allies. They argue that oversight should come paired with bold reforms to fix our democracy.
Read more in the DC Journal:
“The final two years of the Donald Trump regime may be the most overwhelming yet. […] 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.
“People want change, and they want accountability. To do 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 fix our democracy. […]
“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. […]
“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. […]
“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.”
Read the full op-ed here.