"America Is Back": Democrats Prepare for Intense Offensive—What Cards Will They Play?

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Declaring that "America is back," the Democratic Party has signaled an aggressive offensive against the Trump administration. They intend to mobilize all congressional powers to block Donald Trump's unilateral governance.

Reporting from reporter Lee Gang.

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Representative Hakeem Jeffries, poised to become the first Black Speaker of the House following the Democrats' recapture of the House of Representatives.

His very first remarks signaled a strong campaign of checks and balances against the Trump administration.

[Hakeem Jeffries / Democratic House Minority Leader : America is back. This election is about change. We are well aware that the Democratic Party must bring about dramatic change.]

Having retaken the House, the Democratic Party is expected to directly keep President Trump in check primarily by utilizing congressional investigation and subpoena powers.

They can hold hearings and summon relevant figures at the congressional level regarding the Epstein case, the Trump family's business dealings, and hardline immigration policies.

The authority to slash budgets or block government spending serves as another tool for oversight.

For instance, they are now positioned to block additional expenditures that President Trump aims to deploy for a war with Iran, the construction of the border wall with Mexico, or immigration crackdowns.

With Democrats also reclaiming the Senate, it becomes possible for them to reject or delay the confirmation of federal Supreme Court justices, federal judges, and executive department officials.

By delaying the confirmation of successors for lifetime Supreme Court seats, they can put a powerful brake on Trump's efforts to gain control over the judiciary.

[Park Beom-seop / Professor of Political Science & International Relations, Chung-Ang University : When judicial risks arise for (President Trump), having a composition of federal Supreme Court justices favorable to one's own faction would be advantageous. But losing even the Senate means those prospects go down the drain.]

However, it is expected to be difficult for this to lead all the way to the impeachment of President Trump.

Even if an impeachment resolution passes the House, it requires a two-thirds majority in the Senate, and the Senate seats secured by the Democrats so far fall short of that threshold.

(Video Editing: Kim Byung-jik, Design: Cho Su-in)

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