Democrats' House takeover probably guarantees an investigation into Jeff Sessions' firing

Democrats aren't happy with what ex-Attorney General Jeff Sessions' firing means for the Russia investigation. And thanks to Tuesday's House takeover, the party can actually do something about it.

President Trump barely waited until after the midterm elections to force Sessions out of office and make Sessions' chief of staff, Matthew Whitaker, his acting replacement on Wednesday. Reports also indicated that Whitaker would replace Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein atop Special Counsel Robert Mueller's probe into the Trump campaign's possible involvement in Russia's 2016 election meddling. Considering that Whitaker is a very public opponent of the investigation, Democrats were immediately upset.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) was the first to call on Whitaker to recuse himself from Mueller's probe, with House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), and other Democrats close behind. But Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) took his condemnation beyond calls for recusal or demands for a bill to protect the investigation. Nadler, the ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee demanded an investigation into Sessions' firing to begin "immediately." And if that doesn't happen, Nadler ensured that a "Democratic Congress will make this a priority in January" — when Nadler will presumably lead the committee.

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Meanwhile in the Senate, Judiciary Chair Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) made no mention of the Mueller investigation in a statement addressing Sessions' firing, and merely welcomed Whitaker to the post as "a fellow Iowan."

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Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.