Democrats Target Trump Environmental Rollbacks If They Win House

Democratic lawmakers are quietly making plans to use hearings and investigations to focus attention on the Trump administration’s environmental agenda if they win control of the House of Representatives. Because they are less likely to capture the Senate, Democrats would have limited opportunities to enact laws. But they can assert themselves in the House -- and complicate President Donald Trump’s deregulatory efforts -- by using time-honored strategies of burying agencies in oversight requests and hauling federal officials to Capitol Hill for grillings. “The Democrats will become live players,” said Republican strategist Mike McKenna, who has advised the Trump administration on energy policy. “They won’t be able to set the tone, but they will be able to occasionally play offense, something they haven’t been able to do.” Hearings and document requests would focus on science, the process agencies have employed to reverse Obama-era policies and allegations of corruption in government, according to House Democratic aides who asked for anonymity discussing plans before Election Day. Among the topics they would explore with their newfound authority to convene hearings: moves to shrink national monuments, expand offshore drilling and ease limits on pollution...MORE