A Record of Holding Donald Trump and MAGA Republicans Accountable
As a senior member of the Committee on Oversight and Reform and the Chairman of the Subcommittee on Government Operations, Connolly joined Chairs Cummings and Maloney in leading the fight to hold Donald Trump accountable for his rampant conflicts of interests, cruel, inhumane policies, and blatant abuses of power. A battle-tested defender of our democracy and a proven antagonist of MAGA Republicans, Connolly conducted the most oversight of any subcommittee.
The work of the Committee on Oversight and Reform is often granular and technical, but Connolly exposed for the nation Trump’s self-dealing, attacks on the federal workforce, attempts to politicize the Postal Service before the 2020 election, efforts to undermine the Census, and abuse of the Executive Branch to stay in power.
"[Connolly] has a reputation as a tenacious bulldog who hasn't shied away from tangling with Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio)."
— Politico, 10/3/2022
Postal Service: When Trump appointed GOP megadonor Louis DeJoy as Postmaster General, Connolly led the fight against GOP efforts to politicize and undermine the Postal Service on the eve of a presidential election. At a hearing in August of 2020, Rep. Connolly got PMG DeJoy to admit under oath that he did, in fact, have contact with the Trump campaign — an assertion he previously denied to the public and to Congress itself.
Security Clearances: Connolly blew the whistle on Trump’s attempts to bypass protocols to give security clearances to Jared Kushner and Rob Porter, a White House staffer with a history of domestic abuse.
Trump and the Emoluments Clause: Before Trump was even sworn into office, Connolly joined Elijah Cummings and Adam Schiff in hosting a Minority hearing on the vast conflicts of interests and violations of the Emoluments Clause stemming from Trump’s refusal to divest from the Trump Organization. Connolly continued this fight with his oversight of foreign payments to the Trump Hotel and the corruption of the FBI Headquarters procurement.
Trump Hotel/FBI HQ: Connolly spearheaded the investigation into Trump's cancellation of the FBI Headquarters relocation. His work with the GSA Inspector General led to the shocking discovery that GSA Administrator Emily Murphy lied to Congress and met with Trump in the Oval Office to discuss the project, and there were pictures to prove it!
Census: One of Connolly’s first oversight priorities when Democrats won back the House was to ensure a fair Census. Partnering with Chairwoman Maloney, they beat back Wilbur Ross’s attempts to add a citizenship question, which threatened an accurate count of every community.
Schedule F: Connolly immediately identified Trump's Schedule F Executive Order as an effort to politicize our merit-based civil service and install MAGA Republicans in government. The House passed Connolly's bill to prevent such an order from ever being implemented, the Preventing a Patronage System Act, in this year's NDAA and as a standalone bill under a rule.
2020 Election Ascertainment: When Trump crony Emily Murphy failed to ascertain the winner of the 2020 presidential election, Connolly joined Reps. Pascrell and Titus in immediately condemning her actions and brought a national spotlight to this little-known requirement in the democratic transition of power.
Kids in Cages: Connolly fought the Trump Administration’s inhumane family separation policy and exposed the cruelty of former ICE Director Thomas Homan when he sought to defend the Administration. "You can talk all you want about whether the poor border control is overwhelmed. That makes no excuse for how we are treating children! If there's one basic value that ought to unite us as Democrats and Republicans—as Americans— it's how we treat children! Their children, our children, it doesn't matter."
