Democrats ask Trump officials to preserve records after election victories

Ten departments and agencies face requests for record-preservation assurances by November 18

On Wednesday morning, a group of Democratic lawmakers asked leaders of 10 Trump administration departments and agencies to preserve federal records under federal law. The letter was sent by Bobby Scott, the top Democrat on the House committee on education and workforce, who warned that federal officials or employees who willfully and unlawfully concealed or destroyed documents could face fines or imprisonment of up to three years. Scott asked for written reassurance that the documents had been preserved by November 18.

Scott, who is expected to become the committee’s chair next year, cited the Federal Records Act of 1950. The law requires officials to “collect, retain and preserve records that document the ‘transaction of public business’ or contain ‘informational value’” under the statute. Scott’s letter applies that requirement to the departments and agencies overseen by his committee.

The letter went to the leaders of 10 departments and agencies overseen by the House committee, including the education, agriculture and labor departments, the Department of Health and Human Services and the National Labor Relations Board. The request asks those officials to confirm that federal records connected to their operations remain intact.

Scott wrote that “The American people have given Congress a clear mandate to root out waste, fraud and abuse within the Administration.” He warned that any federal officials or employees who “willfully and unlawfully conceals, removes, mutilates, obliterates, falsifies, or destroys” records would be subject to a fine or imprisonment of up to three years.

The request came after Tuesday’s election gave Democrats wins in key toss-up races across the country and comfortable majorities in the House and Senate. Those majorities will give Democrats new oversight authority to subpoena and investigate officials within the Trump administration.

Over the last two years, the Trump administration has overhauled the federal government and reduced its workforce. The Department of Education’s workforce was cut in half after Donald Trump took office, and the administration said education oversight should be managed by the states.

Scott has already outlined how he expects to scrutinize the department if he becomes committee chair. In September, he said he would “conduct vigorous oversight” of the Department of Education. Earlier this year, Scott told US Education Secretary Linda McMahon that instead of returning education to the states, the workforce reduction “has empowered you to effectively dismantle one of the country’s strongest civil rights institutions.”

Other areas covered by the committee include worker protections and federal health requirements. The Trump administration has worked to scale back worker protections upheld by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and to reduce federal vaccine requirements overseen by the Department of Health and Human Services. The Labor Department and the Department of Health and Human Services were among the letter’s 10 recipients.

Democrats across Congress have vowed to get busy after Tuesday’s election. Outside Scott’s committee, Robert Garcia, the ranking member of the House oversight committee, told Republicans to “lawyer up” after Democrats’ election victories. Garcia said Democrats would start investigations into Trump’s business dealings, the administration’s immigration crackdowns and its handling of the Epstein files.

The letter sets a defined next step for the incoming Democratic congressional majorities: written record-preservation assurances from the department and agency heads by November 18, while broader oversight and investigations remain planned.