House Democrats, buoyed by forecasts of a likely takeover in the midterms, are quietly assembling a legislative package designed to impose new checks on the presidency. The effort, while largely symbolic while President Trump remains in office and holds veto power, is intended to lay down markers for future administrations and respond to what Democrats describe as an unprecedented expansion of executive authority.
“This administration has exposed the weaknesses in our system of checks and balances,” said Rep. Suhas Subramanyam (D-Va.). “Power has swung far too heavily toward the executive branch, and the erosion of norms shows we need to codify those norms into law.” Subramanyam, who sits on the House Oversight and Reform Committee, added that Congress’s usual recourse—relying on the Justice Department to enforce its powers—has proven futile, as those agencies have become “loyalists to the president.”
The push mirrors the post-Watergate era, when Congress enacted a series of statutes to constrain the presidency after Richard Nixon’s resignation. Rep. James Walkinshaw (D-Va.) invoked that analogy: “We’ve learned with this administration that they’ve pushed far beyond the envelope. We need to tighten things up and codify what we previously assumed administrations wouldn’t attempt.”
Pardon transparency and ethics
One priority is reforming the presidential pardon power. Democrats have been alarmed by Trump’s sweeping pardons for those convicted in the January 6 Capitol attack, as well as by the controversy surrounding former President Biden’s pardon of his son Hunter. Subramanyam has introduced the No Pardon Paydays Act, co-sponsored by Reps. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) and Joe Neguse (D-Colo.), which would require the pardon attorney to submit a detailed review of each recipient’s criminal history to Congress. The bill would also bar recipients from making large donations to political action committees affiliated with the president who issued the pardon.
“Pardons are essentially for sale now,” Subramanyam claimed. “Lobbyists are peddling access, saying, ‘Pay me and I’ll get you a pardon,’ or ‘Make a donation to a campaign committee and we’ll make it happen.’” The legislation aims to close those loopholes and restore public confidence in the clemency process.
Curbing federal workforce purges
Another major area of focus is protecting the federal workforce. Trump’s creation of the Department of Government Efficiency, led by Elon Musk, has resulted in mass firings and the dismantling of agencies like USAID, the Department of Education, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Democrats, particularly those representing the Washington, D.C., region, have felt the impact acutely.
Walkinshaw plans to reintroduce the Limit on Sweeping Executive Reorganization Act in January. The bill would require congressional approval for any reorganization that cuts large numbers of federal employees, slashes budgets, or outsources core government functions. “This is a direct response to what we’ve seen with USAID and the Education Department being dismantled,” Walkinshaw said. “It rebalances the president’s authority with Congress’s power of the purse and its constitutional role in establishing agencies.”
The legislation has resonated with Democrats who see the executive branch as having overstepped its bounds. “We need to restore the proper equilibrium,” said one senior Democratic aide, speaking on condition of anonymity. “The next president, whoever it is, must operate within the law and with congressional oversight.”
While the bills are unlikely to pass in the current Congress, they serve as a blueprint for a potential Democratic majority. With Democrats poised to flip the House, the party is signaling that oversight and accountability will be top priorities. The effort also aligns with broader Democratic concerns about unchecked power of tech moguls like Musk in shaping policy and national security.
Republicans, meanwhile, have dismissed the proposals as political theater. But Democrats insist they are serious about restoring the balance of power. As Subramanyam put it, “We need to patch the holes in our system before the next crisis.”
