No matter how many things Donald Trump does that look corrupt — whether it’s a dinner for his memecoin purchasers, accepting a $400 million plane from Qatar, or numerous other things — there’s not much that can be done to him politically for the next year and a half.
That’s because Republicans, disinclined to investigate Trump for anything, will control both houses of Congress at least through the midterms, and in the meantime, the Justice Department and FBI are currently run by Trump loyalists.
We’re almost certainly not going to see anything like the Mueller investigation in Trump’s first term, when the attorney general recused himself and a Justice Department official appointed a special counsel.
But suppose Democrats recapture one or both houses of Congress in the 2026 midterms. In that case, some investigations are likely to take place, even if they don’t rise to the level of impeachment, as one Congressman has already proposed.
Trump Is Worried: Trying to Avoid Suffering Through Dozens of New Investigations
According to a new report, Trump is concerned about the possibility of further investigations in the next Congress. If Democrats win control of either house, clearly they would have the power to investigate the administration and exercise greater oversight in countless areas.
Trump wants to avoid that, as he fears it will slow or outright stop his ability to make the changes he wants.
Politico reported over the weekend that the president is “already obsessed” about the midterm elections.
While he was less concerned about the midterms in the first half of his first term, Trump is now “already hyper-engaged in the fight to keep the GOP’s majorities in Congress.”
The story, citing “five Republicans… including several close Trump confidants,” said that Trump has hopes of hanging onto his majorities, especially to keep committee gavels and the attached subpoena power out of the hands of Democrats starting in 2027.
The strategy includes everything from early endorsements to fundraising to candidate recruitment. It’s also affecting the talks for Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” in Congress.
“We think we can have four years,” a Trump adviser told Politico. “We reject the defeatist attitude of operating from the perspective that this is our only shot and we only got two years.”
Last November, shortly after Trump’s win, soon-to-be White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles reportedly told Republican donors that Trump likely had only two years to “overhaul the government and implement sweeping change,” The Independent reported.
A Busy Weekend for Trump
The same weekend the Politico story appeared, Trump announced several big measures that could affect his chances the next time his agenda goes before voters.
Trump, on Sunday, announced on Truth Social that he plans to sign an executive order to reduce prescription drug prices.
“Prescription Drug and Pharmaceutical prices will be REDUCED, almost immediately, by 30% to 80%,” Trump said on Truth Social. “They will rise throughout the World in order to equalize and, for the first time in many years, bring FAIRNESS TO AMERICA!”
The order is the kind of thing likely to be popular, although significant doubts have already been raised over whether the president has the power to drop drug prices via an executive order.
This is the kind of thing that Republicans have denounced in the past as “price controls.” And that’s to say nothing about what this would mean for drug companies based in other countries, such as Ozempic maker Novo Nordisk, which is Danish.
The Wall Street Journal editorial page, reacting to early reports about the price control plan, denounced it last week as “Trump’s worst idea since tariffs.”
Also on Sunday, Trump defended the proposed gift of a 747 from the government of Qatar, which he called “a very public and transparent transaction.”
And he announced that a deal had been reached with Hamas to free Edan Alexander, the last living American citizen who was still being held hostage in the Gaza Strip.
The deal, which bypassed the Israeli government altogether, has the stated goal to “put an end to this very brutal war and return ALL living hostages and remains to their loved ones.”
The same day, the administration also released a confusing statement in which it announced a “deal” with China on trade, while the text of the statement characterized it as the parties having “achieved substantial progress and reached important consensus.”
About the Author: Stephen Silver
Stephen Silver is an award-winning journalist, essayist and film critic, and contributor to the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Broad Street Review and Splice Today. The co-founder of the Philadelphia Film Critics Circle, Stephen lives in suburban Philadelphia with his wife and two sons. For over a decade, Stephen has authored thousands of articles that focus on politics, technology, and the economy. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) at @StephenSilver, and subscribe to his Substack newsletter.
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