Election night could give Dems the power to probe

Democrats eye investigations of Trump’s DC projects

If Democrats take back one or both chambers, they’ll unlock a sweeping new set of investigative powers they could unleash on President Trump’s D.C. projects.

For months, Democrats have lamented the Trump administration’s efforts to “beautify” Washington, D.C., including construction on the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, plans to build an arch near Arlington National Cemetery and efforts to build a White House ballroom.

While the party out of power has attempted to investigate these and additional Trump activities during the president’s first two years in office, getting control of Congress would also mean that Democrats would be able to demand documents and subpoena witnesses — powers they could use to take Trump and his allies to task.

“We’re going to be making up for two years of zero oversight by this feckless MAGA Congress, and on top of that, we’re going to have to tackle everything that pops up on our watch,” Rep. Jared Huffman (Calif.), the top Democrat on the House Natural Resources Committee, told The Hill on Monday.

Ahead of the nation’s 250th birthday, the Trump administration embarked on several contentious projects , including renovations to the Reflecting Pool and the creation of a White House ballroom.

The projects included a series of contracts that, contrary to ordinary procedure, were awarded through a no-bid process, meaning they were awarded to one firm without an open process for other companies to make competing offers.

The New York Times reported that some of the projects included inflated profit margins for the contractors.

“A lot of this is no-bid contracts that just have the stench of corruption and self-dealing and incompetence, and we deserve better than a government that operates that way, so we’re going to just shine a bright light, and there is a sanitizing effect of even that,” Huffman said.

Welcome to The Hill’s Energy & Environment newsletter, I’m Rachel Frazin — keeping you up to speed on the policies impacting everything from oil and gas to new supply chains.

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How policy will affect the energy and environment sectors now and in the future:

Environmental activists and Big Tech appear to be working jointly on a framework for data center development, according to a document reviewed by The Hill.

Gas prices today are at a record high for an Election Day, hovering at an average of $4.11 a gallon nationally as of Tuesday afternoon, according to GasBuddy.

Energy Secretary Chris Wright said Tuesday that high energy prices will soon come down, citing a boost in U.S. production.

News we’ve flagged from other outlets touching on energy issues, the environment and other topics :

Brazil publishes first global ‘roadmap’ for phasing out fossil fuels ( The Guardian )

Upcoming news themes and events we’re watching:

Tonight is election night! Find live updates from The Hill here !

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Election Day is here, with President Trump’s political capital on the line as Democrats eye a potential blue wave and Republicans scramble to defend their congressional majorities. Read more