WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump has ordered the U.S. Department of Justice to look into Democratic lawmakers for what he called the "criminal act" of threatening his officials with impeachment and other punishment, and Attorney General Todd Blanche, asked about the order on Sunday, declined to rule out criminal investigations of the lawmakers and warned members of the House Oversight Committee that they should be "very worried." No investigation had been announced, no criminal statute had been named, and no charge had been filed as of Sunday evening, according to Reuters and the Associated Press.

Source: Reuters

The confrontation began on Saturday, November 7, four days after Democrats won control of both chambers of Congress in the midterm elections. In a post on Truth Social, Trump wrote that "the Democrats are going around threatening a lot of people, including the Attorney General of the United States, and others, with Impeachment and many other forms of punishment," called it "extortion at the highest level," said "they should be held accountable," and added: "By copy of this statement, I am ordering the Department of Justice to look into this criminal act, immediately!" Democracy Docket quoted the post as also saying that "the imprisonment should be against these EXTORTIONISTS."

Source: Al Jazeera

Blanche, on Sunday television, does not rule it out

Attorney General Todd Blanche addressed the order on CNN's "State of the Union" on Sunday, in an interview with host Dana Bash, and also appeared on "Fox News Sunday," the Associated Press reported. Blanche acknowledged that Congress holds constitutional oversight authority, but argued that Democrats' recent statements had gone beyond oversight. Asked whether the department would investigate lawmakers, he did not name a criminal statute and did not confirm that any investigation had begun, but said investigations "could" follow depending on what was said, according to Axios reporting summarised on Sunday.

Source: Associated Press, via WPTF

"I would be very worried if I was a member on that committee," Blanche said of the House Oversight Committee, whose chairmanship passes in January to Representative Robert Garcia, a California Democrat. Blanche also said the Justice Department would provide a legal defence to administration officials facing congressional scrutiny, including incoming White House chief of staff Stephen Miller, and, as the Washington Sun reported, said he planned to represent Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth if Hegseth faced impeachment charges.

One senator singled out by name

Trump's post singled out Senator Elissa Slotkin of Michigan. He accused Slotkin of saying she would "go after all young people that believe in Republican Values" and said Democrats were also threatening donors. Reuters reported that Slotkin, at a University of Chicago event in October, had said she wanted a "deterrence message" so that young people would think twice about working for the administration, and that Congress should investigate people who had enabled Trump's policies. Slotkin answered on Saturday that anyone who broke the law should be held accountable and that "if you didn't break the law, then it's all good."

Source: Reuters

Trump cited no statute and offered no evidence for the extortion claim, according to Al Jazeera and Reuters, and he did not name most of the Democrats he accused. Reuters noted that members of Congress have in recent days sent letters seeking documents on subjects including tech company donations for the ballroom the president is building at the White House — the kind of document requests that are a routine part of congressional oversight. The Justice Department did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment on Saturday.

The Democrats' answer: "We are not going to be intimidated"

Representative Robert Garcia, who is set to lead the Oversight Committee when the new Congress convenes in January, laid out his plans in a statement on election night and posted "LAWYER UP" on X as results came in, and he has described the administration as the "Trump crime family," the Associated Press reported. After Blanche's warning on Sunday, Garcia told CNN: "They're so thin skinned. It's like guys, relax. We have a job to do, and we're going to do it aggressively." Axios quoted him adding: "They can come after us however they want. We're not going to be intimidated." Two other Democrats, Representatives Hank Johnson and Deborah Ross, had said that week that they supported impeaching Attorney General Blanche and Defense Secretary Hegseth, according to The Hill.

Source: The Hill, via Standing Record

Background: this department has been here before with Slotkin

The order is the second time this year that the Justice Department has been directed at Slotkin and her colleagues. Earlier in 2026 the department investigated Slotkin and five other Democratic lawmakers over a video in which they urged service members to refuse illegal orders; a federal grand jury declined to indict them, Reuters reported. Constitutional scholars and congressional Democrats argue that impeachment, subpoenas, hearings and document requests are the tools the Constitution itself gives Congress to check the executive branch — which is why a presidential order to treat those tools as a crime is drawing such a sharp reaction in Washington.

What happens next

The immediate question is the Justice Department's: whether it opens any investigation in response to the president's public order, and if so, under what law — neither Blanche nor the department has named one. The new Congress is sworn in in January, when Garcia takes the Oversight gavel and the promised hearings, subpoenas and possible impeachment inquiries begin in earnest. Trump, for his part, retains the presidential veto over legislation, and both sides spent Sunday signalling that the fight over oversight will be one of the defining battles of the next two years. Awaaz Punjab will update this report if the department announces an investigation or names a legal basis for one.