WASHINGTON (AP) — Days after Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán was ousted by an opposition campaign with an anti-corruption message, Democrats want to try the same playbook against President Donald Trump before the midterm elections.
House Democrats launched Wednesday what they call a task force to overhaul ethics rules and protect access to the ballot. They also want to highlight the Trump family’s business dealings and the president’s transformation of the federal government.
The task force, which will include a mix of progressive and moderate members, could become a central part of Democrats’ messaging as they try to claw back control of Congress from Republicans.
Rep. Joe Morelle, top Democrat on the House Administration Committee and a longtime ally of House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, will spearhead the effort. He said Jeffries “fears that we’re losing Americans’ faith and trust in government and institutions” because so often “decisions are made based on the personal interests of the members or the president and with little regard for Americans.”
Morelle floated a ban on stock trading for all members of the executive branch, Congress and federal courts as a policy. He added that a code of ethics and term limits for Supreme Court justices were other possible proposals.
Democrats have frequently accused Trump’s second term of being “the most corrupt administration in American history,” a characterization the White House denies.
“President Trump only acts in the best interests of the American public,” said Anna Kelly, a White House spokesperson. “President Trump’s assets are in a trust managed by his children. There are no conflicts of interest.”
A little over a year into the president’s second term, his family’s Trump Organization has conducted deals in eight foreign countries, including Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Vietnam. All the deals are ostensibly in compliance with the Trump company’s self-imposed rule not to do business directly with foreign governments.
But it’s not sure that matters, given that many such authoritarian and one-party states rarely take a hands-off approach in private business deals, especially when the business belongs to a sitting president.
Anti-corruption pledges have been heard before
Promises to clean up Washington are nothing new. Trump campaigned in 2016 and 2024 on a vow to “drain the swamp.” Democrats won back control of the House in 2018, at the midpoint of Trump’s first term, with an anti-corruption message.
“I don’t know that we start with people’s trust. I certainly think that’s probably not the case,” said Morelle. “The question is, will we earn it? Can we earn it? And we’re prepared to place significant emphasis on this.”
Reps. Robert Garcia, D-Calif., and Jamie Raskin, D-Md., the top Democrats on the House Oversight and Judiciary committees, respectively, are on the task force.
So are Reps. Greg Casar, D-Texas, leader of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, and Brad Schneider, D-Ill., head of the moderate New Democrats. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., one of the caucus’ most prominent members, is a member as well.
The group’s regional and ideological diversity could ensure a broad base of support for the new initiative, or it could make it harder to find a unifying message and agenda.
“The challenge is almost there’s too much to do, and they are going to need to focus on a couple of things,” said Justin Florence, co-founder of Protect Democracy, a group that says it combats authoritarianism in the U.S. and is consulting with Democrats on their strategy.
The group believes the Hungarian elections offer a successful model.
“It just shows that this messaging has to be loud, it has to be colorful, it has to be engaging,” said Ben Raderstorf, a strategist with Protect Democracy, on how Orbán’s opponents spread their anti-corruption message. “It can’t just be staid hearings, it’s about breaking through attention cycles.”
While Democrats debated after the 2024 election whether their warnings that democracy was imperiled resonated with Americans, many in the party say Trump’s actions have shifted public opinion.
Rep. Nikema Williams, D-Ga., one of the task force’s co-chairs, said the president is “actively meddling in our elections and attempting to impose a Jim Crow 2.0 era through intimidation and suppression.” She vowed the task force will “hold Trump accountable for his corrupt schemes, expose them to the American people, and present the alternative they deserve.”
Anti-corruption groups are hoping the messaging effort will transfer to a meaningful plan to curb corruption in Washington.
“The hope is that it’s broad, and that it’s serious policymaking and not just talking points,” said Robert Weissman, president of Public Citizen, a watchdog group that has been in talks with the task force.
The goal, he said, is to address “not just the Trump administration’s extreme abuses, but the systemic rigging of the political process in Washington.”
Associated Press writer Bernard Condon contributed from New York.
