Congress Can Still Help 2020 Democrats

Has Congress formally asked Mick Mulvaney, Gens. Mattis, Kelly, and McMasters, John Bolton, Jeff Sessions, and Rod Rosenstein to testify on the administration’s foreign and domestic policies,  operations, and governing practices?

If not, why not? The public deserves to understand the inner workings of this White House and how they contrast with its public statements.  Can they be compelled to testify?  If they refuse, can those refusals be made in public? Finally, if they should speak on television, can they be asked to do so under oath?

In these last few weeks, and even while Amy Coney Barrett goes through the kabuki theater of her nomination to the Supreme Court, Congress could make news by doing its job of holding the administration accountable.

It might be able to learn whether Trump’s quotes in The Atlantic were accurate. It might be able to find out just how Trump managed to keep Robert Mueller from fully investigating his finances. There are a million damaging details that Democrats could release to the public before Election Day.

Congress has failed to investigate the bounties Russia has put on our troops in Afghanistan. The corruption of the U.S. Postal Service is no longer an issue. It’s still not clear how Trump has weakened our military and our defense posture. The FDA and the USDA seem to have been neutered.

Congress might not be able to get to the bottom of these issues. But it could certainly keep the Administration busy answering the most basic questions of its malfeasance and corruption.