Rep. Robert Garcia, the California Democrat in line to chair the House Oversight Committee, posted two words on election night as results rolled in Tuesday: "LAWYER UP." Not "here's our plan for groceries." Not "we heard you on inflation." Two words, aimed squarely at the Trump administration, before the ballots were even fully counted.
Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon kept it even shorter. His post: "Subpoenas."
Sen. Ed Markey of Connecticut wasn't about to be outdone on the dramatic front, writing that Democrats "are going to need to plant new forests for all of the subpoenas we'll be printing." Rep. Delia Ramirez of Illinois started naming names: "Noem, Markwayne, Miller, Homan, Bovino, what's up? Clear your schedule." House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries declared last month that "one of the first things" Democrats would do is "run Pete Hegseth out of town." The new Congress doesn't convene until January, and they're already handing out target lists like party favors.
But the biggest target isn't in government at all. The Democratic revenge tour has a very specific first stop: Elon Musk.
Former Clinton Labor Secretary Robert Reich — who has spent the last year refining his Musk obsession into something resembling a hobby — announced the agenda plainly last week: "We've got to defund Musk." He wasn't being metaphorical. Writing in The Guardian, Reich laid out the specifics: "The project of defunding Musk will probably have to wait until after 20 January 2029, when, let's pray, we have a sane administration in Washington that will end all government contracts with him." That's the former Labor Secretary of the United States calling for the government to sever contracts with the man who launches American astronauts into space — because he supported the wrong candidate.
The legislative machinery is already being assembled. Sen. Elizabeth Warren introduced S. 5493, her "Accountable Capitalism Act," in December 2024. Sen. Chris Van Hollen and Rep. Garcia have pushed a bill to close what they call the "Elon Musk loophole" — barring corporate leaders and major contributors from political spending while holding government contracts. Strip the euphemism away and it reads: if you donate to Republicans and do business with the federal government, we will make you choose.
Reich's wish list goes further. Bust up Musk's companies through a "reinvigorated" FTC and FCC. Impose a wealth tax. And the grand finale: "laying the groundwork for nationalizing Starlink and SpaceX." Government seizure of private companies because the owner ran a political action committee. America PAC, Musk's FEC-registered operation, is apparently the crime that justifies the confiscation.
A Rasmussen survey last spring found that 71 percent of Democrats wanted Musk in prison. Not fined. Not investigated. Prison. For running a government efficiency initiative and spending his own money on political speech protected by Citizens United v. FEC — the 2010 Supreme Court ruling Democrats have never forgiven.
The Democratic Socialists of America published a manifesto calling to "establish public ownership of the largest corporations and essential industries to ensure democratic control and accountability to the people." That used to be the fringe. Now it's the blueprint.
Cato Institute researchers Marcos Falcone and Daniel Raisbeck pointed out where this road leads. When Hugo Chávez took power in Venezuela in 1999, the nationalization of private industry was sold as democratic accountability too. By 2006, corruption had exploded and the economy was in free fall under the United Socialist Party of Venezuela. Nicolás Maduro inherited the wreckage.
Garcia said the investigations won't start from zero: "We're not starting from scratch here." Democrats spent two years in the minority cataloging their targets — Trump family business dealings, immigration enforcement, the Jeffrey Epstein files, alleged War Powers Resolution violations over military operations in Iran, Venezuela, and Yemen. Former Trump advisers Steve Bannon and Peter Navarro each served four months in prison for contempt of Congress the last time Democrats held subpoena power. That's the precedent they're working from.
So the voters handed Democrats a midterm win. And in the first hours — not days, hours — the party announced that its agenda is subpoenas, investigations, nationalizing a private rocket company, and jailing a guy who builds satellites.
Grocery prices are still up. The border bill never passed. Ed Markey is shopping for forests to print subpoenas on.