White House counsel William Scharf sent a letter to Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif., the ranking Democrat on the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, warning that incoming Democratic lawmakers risk exceeding their constitutional authority with threats of investigations and subpoenas against Trump administration officials.
Garcia is set to chair the committee next year after Democrats won back the House majority in the 2026 midterms, a cycle Republicans lost badly across both chambers.
Scharf’s letter did not mince words about what he sees as a pattern of intimidation. “I write to remind you of the foundational limits that the Constitution imposes on congressional investigations and subpoenas, which you and members of the new Congress have evinced a clear intent to transgress,” he wrote.
The warning followed public statements from Democrats on the committee. On Election Day, Garcia told reporters Trump officials should “lawyer up.” Rep. Emily Randall, D-Wash., also a committee member, wrote on Bluesky that Democrats “are going to be passing out subpoenas like candy.”
Scharf’s letter cited those comments directly as evidence of bad intent. “We are monitoring the abusive and capricious threats that are now proliferating from Democrat legislators who seek to abuse the legislative process to intimidate and to interfere with the lawful functioning of government,” he wrote. “You and your congressional colleagues have asserted that they will issue subpoenas to harass, threaten, and deter dedicated members of the Administration from further service.”
He went on to argue that Congress’s subpoena power exists only for legitimate oversight purposes, not for retaliation. “Compulsory process is a power Congress has for oversight functions, and only for oversight functions,” the letter states. “Abusive threats and public statements about the indiscriminate issuance of subpoenas, along with threats directed at prospective targets within the Administration make it abundantly clear that any forthcoming investigative processes will be deployed to harass and aggrandize, rather than to advance any legitimate legislative end.”
Scharf raised the possibility of legal consequences for lawmakers who cross that line. “Beyond being inconsistent with the clear, well-recognized constitutional limitations on your investigative functions, threats to executive branch officials designed to deter them from public service, or process designed merely to abuse or instill fear in the recipient may cross the line into blatant criminality,” he wrote. “And issuing unlawful subpoenas with the intention of depriving citizens of their constitutional rights and privileges may warrant further investigation.”
Garcia’s response
Garcia rejected the warning outright, suggesting the letter itself was evidence the White House has something to fear from oversight. “It appears Donald Trump has something to hide,” Garcia said in a statement. “Let’s be clear: Congress’ authority comes from Article I of the Constitution, not from the permission of the White House. Congress has wide latitude to conduct investigations and oversight, an authority inherent in the power to legislate.”
He framed the midterm results as a mandate for scrutiny of the administration. “The American people voted overwhelmingly for us to pass laws to root out corruption and abuse,” Garcia said. “The Trump Administration continues to weaponize the government with threats of unconstitutional attacks on Congress. We are a co-equal branch of government and will not be deterred by baseless threats from a weaponized DOJ or from the President’s lawyers.”
The exchange comes after Trump separately ordered the Justice Department to investigate Democrats over alleged threats against administration officials. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the letter.
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