WASHINGTON-Democrats are riding their sweep of Congress into a new era, eager to meet voter demands for change with plans to tackle high costs of living and confront President Donald Trump’s final years in the White House.
In a nationwide romp, Democrats ousted Republicans from coast to coast, with many surprising places in between, as voters rejected the president’s party for the promise of something different for the country. Their majorities will be padded by wide margins in both the House and the Senate.
The results set up a divided government, with Congress poised to reassert itself as a coequal branch ready to challenge Trump and reverse course after two years of unified GOP control.
“We hear you,” said House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York, who would make history as the first black speaker of the House if his colleagues elect him to the job when the new Congress begins on January 3, 2027.
“We’re going to work hard to deliver on the dramatic change that you deserve,” he said.
The tally was decisive, at times bewildering, for the staggering scope of Democratic gains and the depth of Republican losses. The swelling margins underlined a deep sense of voter anger and concern over the economy and the state of democracy.
All told, the results present a fundamental reshaping of power in Washington, with new opportunities and challenges for governing.
Trump struck a conciliatory tone, suggesting he could work with the Democrats, but he also warned of gridlock ahead as he threatened to use the power of the presidential veto to strike down their agenda.
“I don’t want to be just sitting there for two years vetoing everything,” he told Politico.
House Democrats are promising a 100-day agenda starting with efforts to lower the costs of gas, groceries and other goods, as well as bills to reverse cuts to the Affordable Care Act and Medicaid healthcare programmes. They’re also ready to launch a robust oversight agenda to, as Jeffries says, “hold the crooks accountable.”
Impeachment — of the president or his Cabinet members — is an option.
The top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, Rep Robert Garcia of California, issued a one-sentence warning: “Lawyer up.”
Democrats will be under pressure to quickly show that they have solutions for the high gas and grocery prices, the war in Iran and concerns about the direction of the country.
For Jeffries and his leadership team, it will be their first time in the majority, managing a class of newcomers including a handful of far-left democratic socialists.
With the majority in the 435-member House well past the 218 needed and the Senate Democrats holding at least 54 of 100 seats in that chamber, Jeffries and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer will have room to manoeuvre. (AP)
