Trump vows ‘warlike posture’ if Democrats investigate him

WASHINGTON, 08 Nov. - (ANA) - The US president Donald Trump said he hoped to cut bipartisan deals but vowed to retaliate if the new Democratic-controlled House examines his finances and political dealings

The president began a postelection news conference with an offer to work across party lines, but his conciliatory tone quickly turned contentious. And barely an hour later, he announced the firing of Attorney General Jeff Sessions in defiance of Democrats who saw an effort to impede the Russia investigation.

House Democrats also made the traditional nod to bipartisanship after their victory in Tuesday’s midterm elections even as they emphasized that they would scrutinize everything from Mr. Trump’s taxes to his campaign’s ties to Russia in 2016. But after Mr. Sessions was fired, the incoming chairman of the House Judiciary Committee said the decision would be investigated once Democrats took over in January.

It did not take Mr. Trump long to test Ms. Pelosi’s resolve, abruptly firing Attorney General Jeff Sessions. Democrats were alarmed, worried that the president was moving toward shutting down the special counsel’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election.

The turn of events encapsulated the conflicting pressures on Ms. Pelosi and her new Democratic majority. Voters in traditionally Republican districts in the suburbs joined those in more heavily Democratic communities to elevate Democrats to power as a check on Mr. Trump after he spent the past two years largely unconstrained by a compliant House and Senate led by Republicans.

The instant exchange of fire indicated that there may be no lull in the conflict that has cleaved Washington during the Trump era, and if anything, it may escalate beyond what the last two years have brought. Once in control of all the levers of power in the capital, the president and his party now face the prospect of an opposition House armed with subpoena power and stocked by Democrats who won office on the promise of imposing a check on him.

Democrats picked up at least 27 seats in the House on Tuesday, with 17 still undecided, and claimed seven additional governorships in places like Wisconsin, Michigan and Kansas, states that Mr. Trump won two years ago and will be crucial to his chances of re-election in 2020.  - (ANA) -

AB/ANA/ 08 November 2018 - - -