Democrats need a new approach on a key House committee. Then came the uproar over Jeffrey Epstein

WASHINGTON (AP) — When he was elected as the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee in June, Rep. Robert Garcia immediately gained a powerful profile and a pressing problem.

Garcia was elected by his colleagues with a mandate to hold President Donald Trump’s administration accountable. He has presented himself as an active figure concerned with good governance and accountability. But with Democrats out of power, he had few tools available to carry out his mission besides strongly worded letters to federal agencies and speeches during committee hearings.

Read more: House Democrats call for investigation into Trump administration shutdown letters

Then came a renewed wave of public interest in the Jeffrey Epstein case and Trump’s pledge to release documents related to the late sex trafficker. As Republicans faced increasing public pressure from conservative activists and voters after Trump backed away from that promise, Garcia saw an opportunity.

“If he can betray the American public on this, he can betray the public and lie to them about anything,” Garcia said in an interview with The Associated Press. “It all goes together. The Epstein files case highlights how Donald Trump is only out for himself.”

How Democrats ambushed the Epstein case

Garcia in July coordinated Democratic oversight to force a surprise vote on a Justice Department subpoena for documents related to Epstein — and it worked. Republicans narrowly supported the subpoenas at a subcommittee hearing. Likewise, Democrats pushed Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., in August to subpoena executors of Epstein’s estate to obtain documents.

Collections of Epstein documents began arriving in September. Garcia dismissed more than 33,000 documents from the Justice Department as insufficient, most of them public information that lacked a “client list” of Epstein’s alleged associates.

Meanwhile, Epstein’s estate presented a book of letters compiled for Epstein’s 50th birthday. This book contained a poem and an alleged signature from Trump with a sexually suggestive drawing. Democrats immediately posted the page online and cited it as a reason to investigate Trump’s involvement in Epstein’s activities. The family has since shared more information, including Epstein’s travel logs, personal schedules and financial ledgers.

The sudden attention gave Democrats, still reeling from their party’s failure in last year’s election and divided over the way forward, a jolt of energy and a potential plan of action moving forward in Trump’s second term.

“I think you’ll see us take that kind of aggressive approach to the work we have in front of us,” Garcia said.

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The Oversight Committee, which Comer chairs, is one of the most powerful committees in Congress, with broad latitude to investigate almost anything.

Lawmakers have long used the committee’s influence to attract attention and investigate scandals inside and outside government.

Garcia sought to use his position as the committee’s top Democrat to weave his party’s disparate positions on Trump, affordability, corruption and democracy into a single message. Oversight Democrats also sought information about the Department of Homeland Security’s treatment of American citizens, gifts and payments to administration officials and the administration’s response to natural disasters.

“I still believe this is the most corrupt administration in American history, and we have a great responsibility to investigate this corruption and try to make government work better for working people,” Garcia said.

Garcia was also critical of House Speaker Mike Johnson’s decision to delay the swearing-in of Adelita Grijalva, the Democratic congresswoman-elect from Arizona. Johnson says Grijalva cannot be sworn in until the government shutdown ends and legislative work resumes in the House of Representatives. But Garcia and other Democrats say Johnson’s real goal is to delay a vote on legislation that would expand the reach of the Epstein files.

As Democrats revamp their media strategy, Garcia encouraged Oversight Democrats to engage in new digital media to strengthen the party’s message. He also met with government reform groups to draft transparency legislation they hope to put before voters next year.

“I think when we censor, we have a responsibility to gather information and then put it out there in the court of public opinion, especially in front of Trump voters,” he said.

A fraught relationship with the Republican majority

Oversight hearings have repeatedly degenerated into shouting matches during this Congress, reflecting the almost complete breakdown of bipartisanship on the committee.

Coomer, the Republican chairman, said it was “appalling” for Democrats to publish the Christmas book graphic and accused them of engaging in “cherry-picking and politicizing information” to insinuate without evidence that Trump was involved in Epstein’s actions.

Comer directed the largely Republican majority to investigate issues that align with the Trump administration’s priorities, such as the crime situation in cities and states across the country, the age of former President Joe Biden and alleged misconduct by nonprofits and government agencies. Instead of responding to those investigations, Garcia chose to focus on the Trump family and Democratic priorities.

“If we really want to save this democracy and restore the trust of the American public and move forward beyond a Trump presidency, we have to confront the current exploitation that this man is doing to the country,” Garcia said.

After Democrats made another attempt to hold a surprise committee vote — this time to subpoena the FCC chairman for comment on late-night TV host Jimmy Kimmel’s comment — Comer and Garcia brokered a bipartisan call for FCC Chairman Brendan Carr to testify on a range of issues.

But Coomer, a close Trump ally, also called Garcia a “real big drama queen,” after which Garcia accused him of being homophobic.

Garcia says his identity as a gay immigrant and naturalized citizen has influenced his leadership style and outlook on the country, especially as the Trump administration continues to implement its hard-line immigration agenda.

“I always say that naturalized immigrants are some of the most patriotic people we have in this country, because we all have to fight for those rights that so many people are born with,” said Garcia, who became a US citizen in his late 20s. “He built a drive to try to make this country better, and that’s what drove me in my oversight work.”