A Democratic House will pose a new headache for Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross Wilbur Louis RossTrump admin asks Supreme Court to fast-track excluding people in U.S. illegally from census Trump 'very happy' to allow TikTok to operate in US if security concerns resolved TikTok, WeChat to be banned Sunday from US app stores MORE, one of the most vulnerable Trump administration officials heading into 2019.

Ross faces a slew of ethics complaints over conflicts of interest between his extensive financial holdings and his role overseeing much of the U.S. economy.

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The new scrutiny from Democrats also comes at an already difficult time for the secretary, who has also grown estranged from President Trump Donald John TrumpBiden on Trump's refusal to commit to peaceful transfer of power: 'What country are we in?' Romney: 'Unthinkable and unacceptable' to not commit to peaceful transition of power Two Louisville police officers shot amid Breonna Taylor grand jury protests MORE despite implementing and fiercely defending his controversial tariffs.

Trump is reportedly considering replacing Ross as he shakes up his Cabinet ahead of his reelection bid. And Democrats, eager to expose any misconduct by administration officials, could soon haul in Ross for embarrassing hearings that could harm his standing with the president.

That leaves Ross, an early Trump adviser and ally, on thin ice.

Ross is in charge of implementing Trump’s tariffs on imported steel, aluminum and Chinese goods. A protectionist who identified as a Democrat before joining the Trump administration, Ross has also been a chief defender of Trump’s trade policy on both cable news and on Capitol Hill to skeptical Republicans.

Ross, 80, fit neatly in Trump’s Cabinet and earned high praise from his fellow New Yorker. But the president has soured on Ross amid growing backlash to his trade agenda and a lack of progress toward reaching a new trade deal with China.

After months of mocking Ross’s age and energy, Trump is reportedly considering replacing him with Small Business Administration chief Linda McMahon Linda Marie McMahonApril's dumbest and most dangerous coronavirus declarations Trump convenes sports commissioners in hopes of filling stadiums Senate confirms Trump pick for small business chief MORE or Overseas Private Investment Council President Ray Washburne.

It’s unclear how a Ross exit would impact Trump’s fractious economic team and its implementation of his trade agenda. But ditching the embattled Commerce secretary could save the White House weeks of damaging headlines triggered by congressional probes into Ross’s finances.

Ross had amassed billions of dollars throughout his career in shipping, manufacturing and private equity. His immense wealth bolstered his image as a high-stakes dealmaker well equipped to upend the global trading system. But his failure to manage several conflicts of interest has landed Ross in political — and potentially legal — jeopardy.

Democrats and ethics watchdogs have filed a number of complaints against Ross regarding questionable financial transactions he has made while in office, inaccurate ethics disclosures and meetings with executives from companies in which he has invested.

And two of the Democrats who have called for more answers, Reps. Maxine Waters Maxine Moore WatersPowell, Mnuchin stress limits of current emergency lending programs Pelosi: House will stay in session until agreement is reached on coronavirus relief Omar invokes father's death from coronavirus in reaction to Woodward book MORE (Calif.) on the House Financial Services Committee and Elijah Cummings Elijah Eugene CummingsBlack GOP candidate accuses Behar of wearing black face in heated interview Overnight Health Care: US won't join global coronavirus vaccine initiative | Federal panel lays out initial priorities for COVID-19 vaccine distribution | NIH panel: 'Insufficient data' to show treatment touted by Trump works House Oversight Democrats to subpoena AbbVie in drug pricing probe MORE on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, are both in line to chair those panels in 2019. That would give them subpoena power to wield in their own probes of Ross’s stock sales.

A stable of potential Democratic presidential candidates, including Sens. Elizabeth Warren Elizabeth WarrenDimon: Wealth tax 'almost impossible to do' CNN's Don Lemon: 'Blow up the entire system' remark taken out of context Democrats shoot down talk of expanding Supreme Court MORE (Mass.) and Cory Booker Cory Anthony BookerBipartisan praise pours in after Ginsburg's death DHS opens probe into allegations at Georgia ICE facility Democratic lawmakers call for an investigation into allegations of medical neglect at Georgia ICE facility MORE (N.J.), are also seizing on official meetings Ross held with companies including Chevron, Boeing and Greenbrier before divesting from those firms.

“Secretary Ross’s decisions to meet with senior Chevron, Boeing, and Greenbrier officials while maintaining his investments in those companies raises questions about his compliance with federal conflict of interest criminal statutes,” Warren and Booker wrote in a Friday letter with Democratic Sens. Richard Blumenthal (Conn.) and Ed Markey Edward (Ed) John MarkeyDemocrats shoot down talk of expanding Supreme Court Schumer: 'Nothing is off the table' if GOP moves forward with Ginsburg replacement Democrats see fundraising spike following Ginsburg death MORE (Mass.).

High-ranking federal officials are barred from acting on matters relevant to their own financial holdings. Cabinet chiefs and top regulators typically sell shares of corporate stocks that their work could affect or recuse themselves from any potential conflicts of interest.

But Ross huddled with representatives of Boeing Co., Chevron Corp., Greenbrier Companies and International Automotive Components Group before he divested from those companies, according to a Forbes analysis of his schedules.

Liberal watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) filed a criminal complaint against Ross in August, arguing that the secretary could have violated conflict of interest laws with those meetings.

“Secretary Ross continues to demonstrate a troubling disregard for his ethics obligations, and his systematic failures and omissions suggest that he may have knowingly and willfully violated the law,” said CREW Executive Director Noah Bookbinder in August.

Ross has denied any wrongdoing over how he handled his investments.

Ross’s attorney, Theodore Kassinger, said in August that the secretary “has not participated personally and substantially in, nor taken any action in regard to a particular matter that would have had a direct and predictable effect on his financial investments.”

Forbes also reported in June that Ross shorted shares of shipping company Navigator Holdings in November 2017, shortly after The New York Times asked him about his ties to the Russian-linked firm.

Ross placed his bet against the stock price three days after the paper had contacted him about the story, and five days before the story was published, according to the Times. In response, Warren, Cummings and Blumenthal asked Securities and Exchange Commissioner Jay Clayton to probe whether Ross’s short sale violated insider trading laws.

The Office of Government Ethics chastised Ross a month later for failing to sell his remaining shares of Invesco until December, almost a full year after he told federal ethics officials he had already divested from the company. Ross sold his investment firm WL Ross and Co. to Invesco in 2006, but he maintained a financial stake in the massive investment company.

Ross said after the OGE reprimand that he made “inadvertent errors” in his financial disclosure.

“My investments were complex and included hundreds of items. I self-reported each error, and worked diligently with my department’s ethics officials to make sure I avoided any conflicts of interest,” the secretary said.

But those denials have not convinced Democrats.

“American taxpayers deserve assurances that Secretary Ross can serve the public trust in a manner that is unbiased and free from conflicts of interest,” Democrats, including Waters and Cummings, wrote in a letter in June seeking a Commerce Department investigation into potential conflicts of interest.