For the first time in a while, both Right-Wing and supposedly centrist media are pushing the same message. The new Democratic majority in the House and Senate shouldn’t focus on what they call retribution, which must come at the expense of affordability issues. Affordability has been newly discovered by the right, which I shall collectively refer to as Fox News.

At my gym, the two available news networks on the 11 screens available are Fox News and CNN. For whatever reason, CNN's audio is distorted no matter which machine I’m on. So 3–4 times a week, I watch up to an hour of Fox News. I watch a good bit of centrist news (arguable, depending on the program), and they push the same general message. Democrats will lose any advantage they gained in the blue tsunami by focusing on investigations and prosecutions instead of pocketbook issues.

I get why Fox News is going into a protectionist mode. Some time ago, they made a business decision to promote Donald Trump and the Republican Party while finding fault with Democrats wherever they can, whether true or untrue. Fox warns multiple times a day of a Socialist/Communist takeover, using Socialism and Communism interchangeably. After years of denying the existence of affordability, they now demand it be the only thing Democrats focus on, to the exclusion of all else. CNN, MS NOW, and others interrogate Democrats who have mentioned investigations as if they are engaging in unwarranted political retribution.

I would remind them all that approximately half of voters nationally said government corruption was a crucial factor in their decision to vote for Congress. That percentage was slightly higher than the share who identified the cost of living as crucial to their congressional vote. Voters didn’t vote against corruption expecting nothing to change. Democrats and Republicans who spend the 120th Congress doing nothing about corruption should not expect to be part of the 121st.

The House of Representatives has 20 standing committees, and the Senate has 16. There are also:

• 104 House subcommittees
• 70 Senate subcommittees
• 4 joint committees shared by the two chambers.

I don’t expect the House — Space, Science, and Technology Committee to investigate the $50,000 Tom Homan received in a sting from FBI agents, but I do expect them to examine no-bid contracts from companies like Draper Laboratory and EraDrive. I don’t want the Senate Armed Services Committee to investigate Donald Trump personally making billions in his crypto investments, but they should wonder about major contracts given to contractors that have never before received a government contract, suddenly awarding contracts to firms immediately after Donald Trump Jr. joined the board of directors.

Congressional committees both investigate suspected corruption themselves and/or refer evidence to law-enforcement or government oversight agencies. A committee does not have to wait for the FBI, Justice Department, or an inspector general to begin looking into possible misconduct. Democrats will now be gaining subpoena power and should be expected to use it.

Affordability is no worse than #2 among the American people's concerns, and I absolutely want it addressed. Congress needs to address immigration issues, end the Iran War, and tackle immigration and law enforcement, but under no circumstances should corruption go unaddressed.

The House has an Oversight Committee, and I expect it to fulfill its responsibilities, which include:

• Investigating waste, fraud, and abuse: Examining allegations that taxpayer money is being misused or that government programs are being improperly administered.
• Monitoring federal agencies: Reviewing the conduct and performance of agencies across the executive branch, including the White House.
• Examining government contracts: Investigating procurement practices, sole-source awards, conflicts of interest, and relationships between agencies and private contractors.
• Holding public officials accountable: Calling officials and other witnesses to testify, requesting records, and issuing subpoenas when authorized.
• Recommending reforms: Proposing changes to laws, procedures, and agency practices to prevent future misconduct.

When the expected incoming Democratic chairman, Robert Garcia, tells certain Republicans to “lawyer up.” I consider it fair warning to those who were never investigated during the first two years of Trump’s second term. Tom Homan should finally have to explain the $50,000 he allegedly received in a paper bag for promising to steer contracts. The DOJ should produce the Epstein documents it continues to hide, despite a law requiring compliance. Trump administration and government contractors should be made to explain their business dealings with the government. Corruption doesn’t typically stand up and announce itself; it must be rooted out, and American voters expect no less. We should understand the decision-making process that allowed the construction of ballrooms and destruction of the reflecting pool, without gaining Congressional approval.

Corruption cannot be allowed to become just another Washington political controversy, debated for a few days, investigated halfway, and then forgotten when the next scandal comes along. It must be investigated thoroughly, regardless of who is involved, how much political influence they possess, or how close they are to the president. And just as importantly, when investigations uncover criminal conduct and prosecutors prove their cases, somebody needs to go to jail.

Hearings, subpoenas, press conferences, and congressional reports are not substitutes for accountability. The American people are tired of watching powerful individuals enrich themselves through government connections while ordinary families struggle to pay their mortgages, buy groceries, afford health care, and keep up with the cost of living. They are tired of one set of rules for people with money and influence and another for everybody else. Public office is supposed to be a public trust, not an investment opportunity for politicians, their families, their friends, or the corporations seeking government favors. If the next Congress wants to demonstrate that it understands what voters are demanding, it must do more than expose wrongdoing. It must make clear that corruption has consequences — and that nobody is above the law.

Wars must end. Gas and food prices must come down. Unconstitutional tariffs must be halted. But not to be forgotten is to root out and punish corruption. It cannot remain true that the only deterrent from stealing millions or even billions from the American people is the potential shame of being found out.Corruption cannot be rewarded with pardons, commuted sentences, and a failure to prosecute. Somebody needs to go to jail.