Trump vows comeback as Democrats prepare Congress showdown

Donald Trump said on Sunday he would be back "bigger and stronger than ever before" after his Republican Party lost control of both chambers of Congress in Tuesday's midterm elections, while Democratic leaders set out plans to investigate his administration and his attorney general promised to defend it.

"America took a giant step back in History with the results of the last Election," Trump wrote on Truth Social, adding that the stock market that had grown during his tenure fell after the vote. "But have no fear, we will be back, BIGGER AND STRONGER THAN EVER BEFORE!"

The loss leaves Trump politically constrained for the final two years of his term and hands Democrats control of congressional committees, from which they can summon officials, demand documents and hold public hearings.

On the Sunday political talk shows, Hakeem Jeffries, who is set to become speaker of the House of Representatives, said he supported a Republican lawmaker's reported plan to introduce an impeachment motion against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth as early as Monday. "The so-called secretary of defense has abused his power, undermined our national security and engineered this reckless and costly war of choice in Iran, which has skyrocketed prices on the American people and made the country less safe," Jeffries told ABC. He added: "I'm a hard yes on the Hegseth resolution."

Robert Garcia, the ranking Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, told CNN that holding the executive branch to account is one of Congress's roles under the US constitution. "All he wants to do is protect Donald Trump, is protect Donald Trump's cabinet and administration officials. That is not his job," Garcia said of Attorney General Todd Blanche, vowing to investigate "those that are committing crimes against the American public."

Blanche, a former personal lawyer to Trump who now heads the Justice Department, said he would actively defend the president and senior officials. "You have members of Congress who, after Tuesday, have done nothing but threaten everything that's happening in this administration," he told CNN, citing impeachment threats against Stephen Miller. "If they try to come after Stephen Miller ... of course the Department of Justice will be there to defend him."

Trump appointed Miller, a hardline immigration adviser, as his chief of staff on Friday. Analysts cited by CNA identified Miller as an architect of the immigration policy that contributed to the Republicans' unpopularity. Trump said on Saturday that he was ordering the Justice Department to examine Democratic threats to impeach members of his administration, likening them to "extortion".

CNA reported that likely subjects of Democratic scrutiny include the Trump family's business and cryptocurrency dealings, government contracts involving billionaire Elon Musk, cuts to federal agencies, immigration enforcement and the conduct of the war on Iran, which began in February.

Vice President JD Vance was among Republicans who have publicly reflected on why the party lost so badly at the ballot box. Trump was impeached twice by the House during his first presidency and acquitted by the Senate on both occasions.