Last week’s tidal wave election was both an embrace of Democrats and a firm, widespread rejection of Trumpism and MAGA.

Thankfully, Donald Trump himself is not contesting the results, as he had threatened to do, perhaps a product of just how acutely he’s been rebuffed by the American public.

When the 120th Congress convenes on Jan. 3 under two Brooklyn guys, House Speaker Hakeem Jeffries and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, there must be accountability and proper oversight for Trump’s malfeasance and corruption.

The line of inquiry is deep, from self-enrichment for himself, family and friends to terrible policies like RFK Jr.’s damage to public health.

But any Democratic probes must be fair and honest and not the rigged investigations and prosecutions that Trump and the GOP have engaged in.

Some are suggesting the new Democratic majorities should focus their energies not on investigations, probes and possible impeachments but only on affordability and kitchen table issues. In fact, they can and should do both.

The voters who gave them their large margins do care about corruption, as well as the cost of living and gas prices.

During the last two years Trump has demolished much more than the White House East Wing, from the brutality and contempt for the Constitution exhibited by ICE, to the tearing down of administrative expertise and management by Elon Musk, RFK Jr., and Pete Hegseth that has brought back measles, triggered food recall after food recall, gotten our overseas bases destroyed and torpedoed global relations.

And the Democrats may not be alone, as it’s clear that many of the surviving GOP legislators are uncomfortable with significant aspects of the Trump administration and would probably be happy to go along with a legitimate review of the worse abuses. Trump is historically unpopular and the midterms have shown quite conclusively that Republicans will pay no penalty for, and may even benefit from, going along with investigations into the administration.

Apart from any political questions, healthy democracies are only sustainable when there are consequences for misconduct, corruption and weaponization of government. If Trump and his cronies get away with all of this or are able to keep the extent of their misconduct hidden, even if they lose electorally, that will sap at the credibility of our entire framework of government and only further disillusion a public that feels cheated by the political system.

Look at Brazil, which has come back from the brink of a return to authoritarianism only because the crimes of even a former president like Jair Bolsonaro were duly investigated, laid bare for the public, and the perpetrator punished.

The remaining MAGA loyalists may scream that they are being unfairly targeted or framed, that the government is being weaponized against them and not the other way around. That has been their strategy always: the aggressor is really the victim.

The poor, poor Jan. 6 insurrectionists were put-upon patriots as they were breaking windows and beating Capitol police. It’s a fiction that should be ignored; Congress should investigate with rigor, honesty, transparency and follow the evidence, unlike Trump’s botched and politically motivated prosecutions of figures like Jim Comey and Tish James. That is what will help move the country forward.

_____

©2026 New York Daily News. Visit at nydailynews.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.