White House Drafts Plans for Democrats Winning Control of Congress, Aims to Bypass Congress to Advance Agenda

Nov. 1 — Reuters reported, citing a White House official and two people familiar with the matter, that the White House has spent months preparing for the possibility that Democrats take over Congress, drawing up plans to keep advancing key parts of its agenda through executive power while readying for congressional investigations into the Trump administration. Three people familiar with the matter said that since April, senior officials including Deputy White House Chief of Staff Stephen Miller and Budget Director Russell Vought have been working with the White House Counsel's Office to identify executive actions Trump can take without congressional approval, covering areas such as immigration, tariffs, housing costs and federal spending. The White House official said White House Counsel Will Scharf and his team are also examining "what actions Trump can take on his own under the law, where he can push the boundaries of his authority, and how to defend those decisions in court." Over the past month, Trump has been holding rallies around the country in an effort to preserve Republican control of Congress. At the same time, his aides are said to have privately begun preparing for a potentially very different political landscape in 2027.