Is the risk of "reckoning" approaching? After the midterm elections, congressional control may change hands. Apple, Palantir, and other US companies are preparing for a Democratic "subpoena storm."

Title context: Is the risk of "reckoning" approaching? After the midterm elections, congressional control may change hands. Apple, Palantir, and other US companies are preparing for a Democratic "subpoena storm." Text: For the past two years, congressional Democrats furious at corporate America's cooperation with the Trump administration have had only sharply worded letters to express their displeasure. But after the midterm elections, some of them are likely to gain subpoena powerand the companies in their sights are tightening their defenses accordingly. Polls show Democrats are clearly favored to win back control of at least one chamber of Congress. While shifting political winds typically prompt companies to hire new people and adjust strategy, some Democrats who could become committee chairs are signaling plans for a relentless, intensive offensivea way to respond to voters' discontent over alleged corruption and the direction of economic development. The business community views the coming head-on clash as a crisis and is spending money as if responding to an emergency. This fall, new lobbying registrations surged. A growing number of companies are hiring representatives with close ties to the Democrats likely to lead investigations into their dealings with the Trump administration, and with experience helping companies and CEOs navigate congressional oversight hearings. CEOs are preparing for an unsettling yet seemingly unavoidable scenario: testifying publicly before openly hostile questioners, explaining how they complied with a powerful president's demandsand why they did so. People across K Street, as Washington's lobbying industry is known, say this round of intensive preparation is unprecedented. It reflects both an awareness that President Donald Trump's second term is unusually transaction-oriented and Democrats' anger at companies they see as collaborators with the Trump administration. Sensing a "reckoning"? "Pro-Trump" US companies scramble to respond Consider the companies that donated to the White House ballroom project. Apple Inc. (AAPL.US), for example, hired lobbyist Jeff Miller, who is close to Trump, during the 2024 presidential campaign. Last month, the company added Arshi Siddiqui to its lobbying team. Siddiqui, a former aide to former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, will advise on "tax, trade and technology-related issues." Apple Inc. also hired Liz Allen, a former senior official at the US State Department during President Joe Biden's administration and chief of staff to Tim Walz during his 2024 vice presidential campaign. Microsoft Corporation (MSFT.US), another company that donated to the White House ballroom project, disclosed in August that it had contracted with Rivendell Group to add two former Democratic aides to its external representation team. Palantir (PLTR.US), also a donor to the White House ballroom project, has expanded its external lobbying team, hiring firms with ties to both parties. In late spring, the defense contractorwhich has won a large number of federal government contracts over the past two yearshired a team led by top lobbyist Steve Elmendorf. Elmendorf is a longtime senior adviser to House Democrats and worked on John Kerry's presidential campaign. The team also includes former Alaska Democratic Senator Mark Begich. Reports this week said a spreadsheet recorded $333 million in donations from private donors for the White House ballroom project, including some companies whose contributions had not previously been disclosed. Among them, Salesforce, Inc. (CRM.US) made two $1 million donations, and its CEO Marc Benioff was also among the donors. As Salesforce, Inc.'s business with the US government has continued to grow, Benioff has gradually built a close relationship with Trump. Records show the software company has also stepped up lobbying. This summer, it hired longtime Democratic lobbyist Mary Beth Stanton, as well as Checkmate Government Relations, a lobbying firm with close ties to Trump's inner circle. Anxiety is not limited to companies that donated to the White House ballroom project. A Republican lobbyist said companies that helped fund Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy's "Great American Road Trip" this summermany of which have business interests with the Transportation Departmenthave expressed concern that they could be subpoenaed to Congress to explain their dealings with the Trump administration. The person also said companies that donated to Trump's inaugural fund, his political action committee, and various events related to the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United Statesevents Trump has largely framed as celebrations of himself and his administrationare similarly worried. Democratic strategists say lawmakers can expect enormous pressure from supporters to investigate companies and CEOs with financial ties to Trump and his administration. Lindsay Owens, head of the progressive economic think tank Groundwork Collaborative, said a growing number of voters across parties believe America's political and economic systems are rigged in favor of powerful interest groups. "This is now a broadly shared judgment among the American peopleit is widespread, deeply rooted, and clearly expressed," Owens said. Over the past few weeks, Owens and her team have been meeting with congressional staff to share a resource list of potential investigation targets. The list includes Tesla, Inc. (TSLA.US) and SpaceX (SPCX.US), led by Trump ally Elon Musk, as well as Palantir, OpenAI, Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN.US) and Apple Inc. Particular attention is being paid to companies in the tech industry that benefit from a light-touch regulatory stance or tariff exemptions, especially those that have donated large sums to Trump's inaugural committee or White House projects. Groundwork Collaborative's list also names companies outside the tech industry, including McDonald's Corporation (MCD.US), Walmart Inc. (WMT.US) and TurboTax parent Intuit (INTU.US). Live Nation Entertainment (LYV.US) was also specifically named after reports that the Justice Department settled an antitrust lawsuit against the company following Trump's personal intervention. Potential Democratic investigation targets are generally reluctant to discuss the matter publicly, but they are undoubtedly preparing for lawmakers to investigate anything that smacks of pay-to-play. For example, a prominent financial industry executive described a series of adjustments companies have made over the past few months, including rebalancing the allocation of political donations to curry favor with the party expected to take power. A corporate adviser said clients are anxiously looking for ways to avoid being subpoenaed to appear at hearings to explain why they complied with politically unpopular policies. A K Street lawyer said companies are advising executives to prepare candid answers in advance explaining their dealings with Trump and his administration officials, while comprehensively reviewing internal emails to understand how insiders at the time actually discussed their responses to the president's demands. Large lobbying firm Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck warned in a client advisory this month that companies should prepare now for more aggressive congressional oversight, including possible hearings. At those hearings, CEOs could be questioned while lawmakers seek to score "political points." The memo said: "The practical consequences could be significant, including reputational damage, share price impact, executives testifying, large-scale document production obligations, parallel regulatory investigations, and legislative initiatives targeting companies' business practices." Tensions are mounting Corporate concerns have been rising throughout the year, in sync with Democrats' growing optimism about retaking the House and possibly the Senate as well. Peter Orszag, CEO of investment bank Lazard and a former budget director in the Obama administration, said on an earnings call in January: "If the House does flip, what you could see is a lot of hearings, a lot of subpoenas; a lot of tension between the legislative and executive branches over issues like executive privilege." Said Terry, a lobbyist at BGR Group who once worked for Illinois Representative Jan Schakowsky, said: "It starts with staff asking questions, then a letter, then a request for documents." Terry said: "By the time it actually gets to a hearing room, the whole narrative is basically already set. That's what we're telling clients through BGR's congressional oversight working groupstart preparing now, not after the first letter arrives." Congressional veterans see ample opportunities for Democrats to investigate. Henry Waxman, a former California congressman, said: "There's a lot of material here to work with." Waxman is a liberal Democrat who aggressively pushed for investigations, led multiple probes during the George W. Bush administration, and served as chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. Waxman said Congress has a responsibility to investigate as polls show growing public concern about government corruption. A September Gallup poll found that 89% of US adults believe corruption in government is "widespread," including overwhelming majorities of Republican and Democratic supporters. "What has happened during the Trump administration has opened the public's eyes," Waxman said. Seth Bloom, a lawyer who has represented major companies and served for years as general counsel to the Senate antitrust subcommittee, said companies that benefited from the Trump administration's light-touch approach to antitrust enforcement could also face scrutiny. Maryland Democratic Representative Jamie Raskin is expected to take over the House Judiciary Committee, which oversees antitrust matters. Raskin recently spoke about the issue at a conference. "Congressional Republicans are acting like a bunch of meek followers and sycophants, blindly endorsing the president's improper deals instead of conducting meaningful oversight," Raskin said. He added: "When suspicious deals drive up prices, push down wages, and widen economic gaps, they say nothing." The merger between Paramount Skydance (PSKY.US) and Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD.US) could also come under particular scrutiny. Of special interest is whether the Trump administration approved the deal on the condition that affected media networkssuch as CBS News and CNNcommit to providing favorable news coverage of the government. "I expect there will be more oversight going forward. What exactly happened with these mergers?" Bloom said. In addition, Waxman said Democrats will "absolutely" want to investigate Musk's expansive role in the Trump administration. Waxman called the tech CEO "an easy target for oversight investigations." But getting answers may be far harder than asking questions. Waxman believes effective congressional oversight will be more difficult now than when he was at the peak of his career in the 1990s and early 2000s. He noted that congressional staff levels have been cut in recent years, leaving committees with fewer investigators to conduct complex probes. He also expects the Trump White House to resist investigations. "This is a hostile administration. The situation now is much worse than when I was a committee chairman," Waxman said. "I think the executive branch will simply cut off cooperation with Congress and refuse to provide information to Congress. But that only makes this task more important."