Donald Trump is still two months from being sworn in as president but Democrats are already demanding a congressional investigation into him, saying they fear his massive business empire will influence his decision-making in the White House.

Rep. Elijah E. Cummings, the ranking Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, sent a letter to Chairman Jason Chaffetz officially requesting the probe Monday, saying Mr. Trump poses questions no modern president has faced in terms of unwinding himself from his personal interests.

“Mr. Trump’s unprecedented secrecy and his extensive business dealings in foreign countries raise serious questions about how he intends to avoid conflicts of interest as president,” Mr. Cummings said.

Mr. Cummings made clear his request was a measure of fairness, or perhaps payback, for the GOP’s repeated investigations into President Obama’s troubling moments in the White House, such as the 2012 Benghazi terrorist attack, and into Hillary Clinton’s email scandal stemming from her time in the State Department

“Now that Republicans control the White House and Congress, it is incumbent on you and other Republicans to conduct robust oversight over Mr. Trump — not for partisan reasons, but to ensure that our government operates effectively and efficiently and combats even the perception of corruption or abuse,” Mr. Cummings said.

Mr. Trump’s children are slated to continue running his business.

In an interview with CBS’s “60 Minutes” that aired Sunday, the Trump family said it doesn’t matter if the Trump brand has been harmed.

“Who cares?” Mr. Trump said. “This is big league stuff. This is our country. Our country is going bad. We’re going to save our country. I don’t care about hotel occupancy. It’s peanuts compared to what we’re doing.”

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