House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., are seen here on the steps of the U.S. Capitol on May 21, 2026. Both Democratic leaders acknowledged that the public wants them to act quickly on affordability issues with their new majority in January.
Win McNamee/Getty Images
hide caption
Win McNamee/Getty Images
After a string of midterm victories, Democratic congressional leaders say they are clear-eyed about their mandate in January.
“We are going to fight to make this country affordable for every American,” Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries, who is the presumptive speaker of the House, said Tuesday evening. “This is an election for change, and we understand that as House Democrats we must make sweeping changes.”
Speaking to reporters Wednesday, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., added that “relief is on the way” but acknowledged that some of the public might be skeptical about Democrats’ ability to convey the economic message that catapulted them into winning back both houses of Congress.
Democrats will control the legislative branch, but will not have a large enough majority to override a presidential veto and will likely face a filibuster from Republicans in the Senate.
“That doesn’t mean nothing can happen, but it does mean there are real obstacles,” said Bobby Kogan, senior director for federal fiscal policy at the Center for American Progress, a left-leaning think tank based in Washington.
Matt Bennett of Third Way, a center-left think tank, said these obstacles risk leading voters to become disillusioned with the limitations inherent in divided government.
“What the Democrats were really promising was: Take us back to power, we’ll put the brakes on Trump for two years, and then when we have the White House in 2028, we can actually make your life better. It’s not clear to me that voters heard the whole message,” Bennett said. “They may have only heard the last part, and so there is a risk that voters will be disappointed.”
The power to play on offense
An important power that comes from being in the majority is controlling which bills come up for a vote.
“There will be a lot of bills where the goal is to contrast — Democrats are for this and Republicans are against that,” Kogan said. “But what’s special about having control of both chambers is that legislation where the public is on (the Democrats’) side and it’s very difficult for Republicans to explain why they’re against it, those kinds of things become reality.”
As an example, he cites the publication of the Epstein files. President Trump and Republican leaders worked to prevent the measure from passing last year. Once the plan came to a House vote via a legislative race around Speaker Mike Johnson, lawmakers were forced to go on the record and voted almost unanimously to release the records.
“The difficulty was just getting there,” Kogan said. “And what Democrats can do is make the popular things happen.”
Forcing votes on popular issues has been a winning strategy in previous divided governments. After Democrats took control of Congress in the 2006 midterm elections, they made raising the minimum wage a signature issue, and Republican President George W. Bush subsequently signed it into law.
Democrats have announced plans to introduce bills to help Americans with health care costs, restore enhanced premium tax credits and reverse Medicaid cuts.
“I think this is going to be critically important: When you vote for a Democrat, your life improves,” said Rebecca Cooke, the Wisconsin Democrat who unseated Republican incumbent Derrick Van Orden in the state’s 3rd Congressional District.
Democrats also have the option of using budget reconciliation, a tool that circumvents the threat of a Senate filibuster by allowing certain budget-related bills to pass with a simple majority. Democrats used reconciliation to pass some health care changes in 2010. Republicans used it to pass tax cuts in 2017, and it was used to pass Trump’s tax and spending bill.
Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren is already calling on her party to embrace reconciliation, writing in Time this week, Democrats are expected to use it to “reverse Republican cuts to health care, expand health care coverage, and fund universal child care.”
Accept the veto
Trump has sent mixed signals about the type of leader he will be in a divided government, saying he will “veto everything” and could “make deals” with Democrats.
Congressional Democrats already reject the idea that the veto would have a chilling effect.
“If we have a bipartisan bill to restore health care for people who have lost their Medicaid or improve access to affordable medicine and other things, I challenge it to veto it,” said Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand. Morning edition. “If he decides to veto common-sense measures that lower the prices of groceries or real estate, then 28 will be very favorable to Democrats.”
Embracing the veto – rather than running from it – can be an effective political tool.
“You could see legislation intended to address the effects of tariffs that Democrats could pass and then dare President Trump to veto it and use it as a mechanism to signal to the American people where the Democrats are versus where the president is,” said Molly Reynolds, a congressional expert at Brookings.
Lindsay Owens, president of the think tank Groundwork Collaborative, adds that voters want to see action.
A hat reading “VETO” sits on the Resolute desk as President Trump speaks in the Oval Office on November 5, 2026.
Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images
hide caption
Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images
“I don’t think the American people sent that many Democrats to Congress to hear a whole bunch of talk about what they can’t do. It will go over like a lead balloon,” Owens said. “Democrats need to send these bills to the president’s desk. If he objects, this news cycle will be good for Democrats – like, ‘Trump vetoed a bill that would have lowered your health care costs.'”
Third Way’s Bennett said passing legislation quickly would help Democrats in the long run.
“They have to be caught trying, as Bill Clinton would say. And then they can turn to the voters and say, look, this is what we would do for you if it wasn’t blocked by the Republicans,” he said.
Rep. Brad Schneider, D-Ill., said that in divided government, it’s important to make sure voters know exactly what Democrats are trying to do — to avoid any disappointment that priorities run into GOP roadblocks.
“We need to constantly communicate where we stand,” said Schneider, who chairs the New Democrats coalition. “Make sure people understand what we do, when and why.”
What about war and gas prices?
A man walks past posters highlighting high food and gas prices and urging people to vote in Dallas, Texas, November 2, 2026.
Ricardo Arduengo/AFP via Getty Images
hide caption
Ricardo Arduengo/AFP via Getty Images
A change in legislative power won’t lower fuel prices anytime soon. Lawmakers have no direct way to lower the price of oil, which is shaped by a complex global market.
Democrats plan to reassert the legislature’s authority over tariffs and bring new votes on a war powers resolution to force an end to the war in Iran, which has driven up fuel prices.
“We can advance a strong war powers resolution for the president to pass. Take it to his desk and then explain to the American people if he does in fact decide to use his veto,” Jeffries said in an interview Friday with Morning edition.
But the War Powers Resolution has been largely ignored by presidents of both parties, with administrations skirting its demands.
Another option for Democrats facing war is to pass appropriations bills that fund the government, with a provision prohibiting the use of funds to conduct military operations in Iran.
Sam Gringlas contributed reporting
Gn headline
