June 18, 2026 - Washington, D.C. — On Wednesday, Rep. Robert Garcia, Ranking Member of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, demanded answers from White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles after recent reporting revealed Deputy White House Chief of Staff Stephen Miller pushed to suspend habeas corpus rights and Vice President J.D. Vance pushed to invoke the Insurrection Act to suppress peaceful protests in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Habeas corpus is a fundamental aspect of due process, allowing people in the United States to contest the basis of their detention.

“Donald Trump has worked to defy and undermine the Constitution to push his bigoted mass deportation campaign. New reporting shows that top White House officials openly planned to deny core constitutional rights, and the Vice President’s support to use the military against peaceful protests. Oversight Democrats will fully investigate this outrageous attack on the Constitution and the rule of law. All those responsible should be held accountable,” said Ranking Member Robert Garcia.

In the letter to White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, Ranking Member Garcia wrote, “Oversight Democrats are investigating the systematic violations of the Constitution by the Trump Administration through its mass deportation campaign. The Administration’s willingness to use violence against civilians, lack of oversight for violations of civil rights, and violations of court orders are widely documented. New reporting revealed that the Administration considered far more egregious violations of the constitution, and that senior White House staff, including Vice President J.D. Vance and Stephen Miller, advocated for the illegal suspension of fundamental civil liberties as the Administration considered suspending habeas corpus rights and invoking the Insurrection Act to suppress peaceful protests in Minneapolis. In light of this disclosure, we demand that you immediately provide records and documents which outline a draft plan by senior members of the Administration to effectively subvert the Constitution on a massive scale.”

Source: House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform-Democrats