Democratic lawmakers are quietly plotting how hard to go after corporations like Larry Ellison’s Skydance Paramount should they retake the House in November.
Those reps have told Semafor the time to plan how to wield their power is now, as prediction markets show the party is heavily favored to win control of the House—81 percent on Kalshi, 85 percent on Polymarket—in November.
Specifically, Democratic lawmakers are intent on targeting corporations they allege are courting President Donald Trump just to line their pockets. Semafor writes that “Democrats have sent missives since last year to Paramount, Hewlett-Packard, and Alphabet.”
Those on the Oversight Committee have reportedly “homed in on fundraising for the White House’s ballroom renovation.”
Democratic Rep. Pramila Jayapal, of Washington, told Semafor she will push for anti-monopoly probes into a “few of the worst and focus there.”
Arizona Sen. Ruben Gallego issued a direct threat to CEOs who toe the line of legality in dealing with Trump.
“Once we take power, whoever the president is, we’re going to break up your companies,” he told Semafor in a warning to business executives. “So all the investment you did to create these mergers are going to be for naught. Your investors are going to be pissed at you, and you’re likely going to end up getting fired as the CEO because you wasted so much money and corrupted yourself in the process.”
Gallego may have been referring in part to the Ellison family’s hostile takeover attempt of Warner Bros. Discovery and Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s acquisition of Juniper Networks.
Ellison, who Forbes estimates is worth $189 billion, has gone all in on buttering up Trump to approve a merger that critics say would eliminate competition in Hollywood and streaming.
In addition to a $16 million settlement with Trump over CBS News’ coverage in 2024, which was widely referred to as a “bribe” and “cowardly capitulation” to secure Federal Communications Commission approval, his company also picked the MAGA-curious Bari Weiss to lead CBS News.
The 81-year-old Oracle founder, who just attended Trump’s State of the Union address, has gone so far as to relocate his primary residence from Lanai—the Hawaiian island he purchased for $300 million in 2012—to Manalapan, Florida, which is 20 minutes from Mar-a-Lago.
Ellison’s son, Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison, has even “offered assurances to Trump administration officials” that he would make sweeping changes to CNN if the merger goes through, the Wall Street Journal reported last year. The younger Ellison said on CNBC that he has had “great conversations” with Trump about the network’s possibly MAGA-adjacent future.
Rep. Robert Garcia, the House Oversight panel’s top Democrat, said lawmakers plan to root out any “corruption” between executives and the White House.
“There’s opportunities to look at not just corporations that we think are enabling some of Trump’s corruption,” Garcia told Semafor, “but certainly corporations that are not supporting American families and not really focusing on affordability.”
The advance planning, while risky to do before a successful Election Day, may help Democrats avoid the internal infighting that led to stalemates when they took power from the GOP in 2019 during Trump’s first term.
Semafor suggests that impeachment is unlikely to be a top priority, as there is no realistic scenario for Democrats to secure the 67 votes needed in the Senate to convict.
Still, not all lawmakers oppose the prospect of probing Trump’s alleged wrongdoing and holding him to account.
Semafor reports that Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland wants to investigate whether Trump has violated the Emoluments Clause of the Constitution, which forbids the president from receiving gifts from taxpayers or foreign governments.
A probe would surely explore the Trump Organization’s $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS and the Treasury Department, which it filed in a federal court in Miami last month, as well as the $400 million jet gifted to the administration by Qatar.
Trump may not be the only one in the administration under investigation come next year. Top Democrats have expressed interest in impeaching Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem after federal immigration agents under her command killed two American citizens.
