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WASHINGTON \u2013 President Donald Trump\u2019s White House has spent months preparing for a possible Democratic takeover of Congress, developing plans to keep advancing major parts of his agenda through executive power while bracing for investigations of his \u200badministration, according to a White House official and two people familiar with the plans.<\/strong><\/p>\n Senior officials, including deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller and budget director Russell Vought, have been working with the White \u200cHouse Counsel\u2019s Office since April to identify executive actions on immigration, tariffs, housing costs and federal spending that Trump could pursue without congressional approval, said the three people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.<\/p>\n White House counsel Will Scharf and his team also are looking at \u201cwhat Trump can legally do on his own, where he could push the limits of his authority and how to defend those decisions in court,\u201d the White House official said.<\/p>\n The planning underscores a paradox of Tuesday\u2019s midterm elections: Capturing control of Congress would give Democrats the power to \u200binvestigate Trump, block legislation and constrain his spending priorities. But Trump would retain broad executive authority over trade, foreign policy and the federal bureaucracy that he has already used aggressively during his second term.<\/p>\n Democrats need a \u200bnet gain of four seats in the US House of Representatives as well as the US Senate to overturn Republicans\u2019 narrow 218-214 and 53-47 majorities. Opinion polls favor Democrats \u2060to win the House, while the Senate remains too close to call.<\/p>\n For the past month, Trump has held rallies across the country trying to preserve Republican control of Congress, even as his aides privately prepare for a very different \u200bpolitical landscape in 2027.<\/p>\n The White House pushed back on the prospect of Republican losses and accused the media of promoting a false narrative.<\/p>\n \u201cThis administration and commonsense Republicans will continue to secure our borders, restore law and order, putting more money \u200bback into the pockets of hard-working Americans, and deliver wins for the American people,\u201d White House spokeswoman Lauren Bis said.<\/p>\n Among the executive actions under consideration are new tariffs on imports of critical minerals and wind turbines, tighter rules on visas for international students and temporary foreign workers, and measures aimed at lowering housing and construction costs, the White House official said.<\/p>\n Federal agencies have submitted proposals and legal reviews of actions the administration could take unilaterally, one of the people with knowledge of the plans said.<\/p>\n Vought, whose US Office of Management and Budget \u200boversees federal spending, is examining which priorities can move forward using money already appropriated by Congress, two of the people said.<\/p>\n He also wants to change federal grant rules to give political appointees more say in which government programs receive \u200btaxpayer money, they said, potentially giving the White House more influence over federal spending without seeking congressional approval.<\/p>\n Trump has been briefed on the preparations and has taken part in discussions about them, the White House official said.<\/p>\n When asked how comfortable Trump would be governing \u200cthrough executive \u2060authority under a Democratic Congress, one of the people said, \u201cvery comfortable.\u201d<\/p>\n GOVERNING WITHOUT CONGRESS<\/strong><\/p>\n Trump has already tested the reach of presidential power since returning to office in January 2025, using executive authority to impose sweeping tariffs, intensify immigration enforcement, shrink the federal workforce, and pursue foreign-policy goals including the war against Iran without Congress\u2019 approval or new laws.<\/p>\n A major exception was Trump\u2019s massive package of tax and spending cuts that was passed by the Republican-controlled Congress and signed into law by the president in July 2025.<\/p>\n \u201cPresident Trump in the last two years has basically ignored Congress and tried to do as much as possible through executive orders and executive power,\u201d said Nathan Gonzales, editor at Inside Elections, which provides nonpartisan political analysis. \u201cI think \u200bhe will only continue if there are Democratic majorities.\u201d<\/p>\n Trump has \u200brepeatedly invoked national emergencies to expand his ability to \u2060act without new legislation. Congress can vote to end those emergencies, but Trump could veto such a move, requiring two-thirds majorities in both chambers to override him.<\/p>\n A Democratic Congress could still create significant obstacles.<\/p>\n Control of the Senate would allow Democrats to block Trump\u2019s judicial and executive-branch nominees, including any Supreme Court pick.<\/p>\n \u201cI would anticipate they will be very reluctant to \u200bapprove any of the president\u2019s appointments,\u201d said Andrew Busch, a public policy professor at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and author of a history of midterm elections.<\/p>\n Democrats could \u200balso refuse to pass Trump-backed legislation. \u2060But Trump could veto Democratic legislation he doesn\u2019t like, and Democrats are unlikely to have enough votes in the House to override him.<\/p>\n Courts could block executive actions that exceed Trump\u2019s legal authority. The White House plans to seek legal opinions from the Justice Department to determine what Trump can do without Congress and how to defend those actions if they are challenged in court, one of the people said.<\/p>\n DEMOCRATIC INVESTIGATIONS<\/strong><\/p>\n One challenge, however, cannot be sidestepped through executive action: congressional investigations.<\/p>\n Reuters previously reported that senior House Democrats \u2060and committee aides \u200bhave discussed using hearings, subpoenas and document requests to examine whether Trump has used his presidential power to benefit himself, allies or donors.<\/p>\n Trump \u200baides have been preparing for that prospect for months, all three people said.<\/p>\n White House lawyers have been briefing political appointees and agency leaders on how to handle congressional inquiries, document requests and subpoenas, one person said. They have advised officials to be careful about what they put in writing.<\/p>\n They \u200balso sought a Justice Department opinion that could allow Trump to invoke executive privilege to shield communications with private advisers from congressional scrutiny, the person said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n