Democrats vow to break up Trump-aligned mergers if they regain power in November
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Democrats have been pooling ideas for months on how to retaliate against companies and figures aligned with President Donald Trump’s political agenda, telegraphing that merger breakups and committee investigations will play a central role in their efforts to push back against the administration if they win power.
Recently, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (DY) took to social media to highlight his latest entry on this list.
“Brendan Carr is a corrupt political hack and fake chairman of the FCC,” Jeffries said. In a post I wrote to X. “This man (and the organizations he supports) will soon find himself on the wrong side of a congressional investigation.”
Jeffries’ comments came in response to a post by Carr that the administration would take a closer look at license renewals for publishers that perpetuate “fake news.”
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House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, DY, speaks before the upcoming House vote on funding for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on March 5, 2026. (Brendan SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)
The struggle over political alignment is not unique to Carr.
Comments piled up as the country moved closer to the November midterm elections; It’s a critical opportunity for Democrats to break the Republican governing triumvirate and push back more visibly against the Trump administration. Even regaining control of just one chamber of Congress could enable Democrats to fulfill their retaliatory agenda.
Democrats like Sen. Ruben Gallego hope to pressure companies that have approved mergers on Trump’s watch.
“No matter who the president is, when we take power, we will break up your companies,” Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., told Semafor.
“So, all the investments you’ve made to create these mergers will be wasted. Your investors will be angry at you, and you’ll probably get fired as CEO because you spent too much money and corrupted yourself in the process,” Gallego said.
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Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., paid a high price for his vote to prevent a partial government shutdown: He fired White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
Notable mergers under the Trump administration include Paramount’s $82.7 billion acquisition of Warner Bros., Capital One’s $35 billion acquisition of Discover, and Nippon Steel’s $14.9 billion acquisition of U.S. Steel.
Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., similarly echoed Gallego’s sentiments in an X post.
“Paramount should enjoy the growing news monopoly they have while they have it, because when the Democrats regain power we will smash these anti-democratic information groups,” Murphy wrote. “All.”
Paramount’s parent company, Skydance Media, has close ties to the Trump administration through CEO David Ellison, who appeared as the Republican guest at the 2026 State of the Union and is a frequent guest at the White House.
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Susan Rice, a former senior official in the Biden and Obama administrations, also caused a stir last month after promising political revenge against corporations if Democrats regain control of Congress and the White House in an interview with Vox.
“They will be held accountable by those who oppose Trump and win at the ballot box,” Rice said.
“I think whether you’re a law firm, whether you’re a university, whether you’re a media outlet, whether you’re a large corporation, whether you’re a large technology company, you need to play the long game, not this short game that’s so harmful,” Rice said. he added.
Subpoena powers are also part of Democrats’ efforts to achieve their goals if they return to power.
Rep. Pete Aguilar, D-Calif., the third-most powerful Democrat in the House, has indicated that using subpoena powers to bring in former President Bill Clinton would likely pave the way for lawmakers to remove high-profile testimony from Trump’s orbit.
“This sets an interesting precedent for who will be subject to Oversight, and we’ll see what happens next year for Trump Inc. and the Trump family,” Aguilar said, touching on the demands Democrats might make if they hold the majority in 2027. he said.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks with members of the media before boarding Marine One at the White House in Washington, DC, on January 31, 2025. (BRYAN DOZIER/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images)
Democrats’ targets also include the private sector.
At a House Oversight Committee hearing last year, Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, said interrupted transactions will demand that lawmakers subpoena billionaire Elon Musk over his work with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
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“The suggestion was to subpoena Elon Musk, the chairman of DOGE, who made these suggestions. [spending] it cuts,” Crockett said.
Their calls were taken up in the Senate, where Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., introduced a very similar proposal, citing Musk’s closeness to the president and his influence in efforts to weaken government operations.
“Mr. President, if we are serious about fulfilling our constitutional responsibilities, and I hope we all are, it is critical that our committee hear from the person who is actually in charge of the federal government,” Sanders said. He said it in the committee.
Reached by Fox News Digital, Democrats did not respond to a request for comment on their plans to implement their past comments.
