Sen. Bernie Sanders says Democrats should hold President Donald Trump accountable after taking control of both chambers of Congress in January, but cautions that investigations should not consume the party’s attention.
Speaking on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Sanders said it was important to examine allegations of corruption and illegal conduct involving Trump administration officials. Still, he argued, Democrats should focus mainly on lowering costs and improving life for working families.
Asked whether spending two years investigating Trump could undermine Democrats’ promise to make life more affordable, Sanders said he believed it could. He supports holding the administration to account, he said, but not at the expense of other priorities.
Sanders pointed to childhood poverty, seniors living on limited incomes and concerns about the effects of artificial intelligence on jobs, privacy and health. He said Democrats need to stand up for working people and deliver tangible improvements.
Affordability was a central theme in Democrats’ midterm campaigns. Candidates blamed the Trump administration for rising costs of fuel, groceries, housing and health care, and cited the war with Iran and Trump’s tariffs as contributing factors.
The conflict with Iran has pushed fuel prices higher. AAA reported Sunday that the national average for gasoline was $4.02 per gallon, nearly a dollar more than a year earlier.
After Democrats won majorities in the House and Senate, several lawmakers said they planned to use their investigative powers to scrutinize current and former Trump administration officials. Incoming House Oversight Committee chairman Robert Garcia said Democrats could examine Trump’s pardons and investigate people close to the president, including Elon Musk and incoming White House chief of staff Stephen Miller.
Garcia has also said his committee is prepared to investigate what he described as wrongdoing by Trump and his allies. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who is expected to become speaker, similarly pledged to pursue accountability, arguing that officials focused on personal enrichment are not serving the public.
Sanders said the election reflected more than opposition to Trump’s policies. In his view, voters are calling for substantial change, pointing to long work hours, worries about children and the difficulty of affording health care and housing. He said Democrats should challenge the influence of wealthy interests and build an economy and government that serve everyone.
Sanders also described Trump as erratic and, in his personal view, mentally unbalanced, while calling him politically capable. He said Trump might be open to raising the minimum wage or expanding access to health care, and that Democrats could try to work with him on those issues, though he offered no guarantee it would succeed.
