House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) hinted Monday she may use subpoena power to negotiate with President Donald Trump if Democrats retake Congress in November.
Speaking before CNN’s CITIZEN Conference on Monday, Pelosi told Dana Bash: “Subpoena power is interesting — to use it or not to use it? It’s a great arrow to have in your quiver in terms of negotiating on other subjects.” Bash had asked how Democrats will act as a check to the Trump administration.
The California lawmaker said Democrats are eager “exercise oversight” over Congress, citing various agencies whose regulations have been rolled back since President Trump took office. “Look what’s happening. Clean air, clean water, EPA, look what’s happening to education,” Pelosi said. “The list goes on.”
The House Minority Leader’s comments come after a Friday interview with the Los Angeles Times, in which she suggested she may be a short-lived House Speaker if Democrats win a House majority in the midterm elections.
“I see myself as a transitional figure,” she told the paper. “I have things to do. Books to write; places to go; grandchildren, first and foremost, to love.” According to the Times, Pelosi is grooming Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), a ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee whose profile has risen due to his in probing collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia, as a possible successor.