Tuesday’s historic shift in American politics, bringing the curtain down on MAGA rule and Donald Trump’s reign of impunity, was so extensive and so complete that it will require Democrats to reassess what is required of them going forward. A House majority of, say, 258 seats and Senate majority of 54 or 55 or 56 (!) seats can accomplish things that narrower majorities could not. The balance of power shifts in the Senate from a Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) to someone akin to Senator-elect Josh Turek (D-IA) or Senator-elect James Talarico (D-TX). Likewise, state trifectas where Democrats control the governorships and both state houses — now in place in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Nevada, Arizona, Minnesota, and Michigan — can accomplish a sea change in policy that divided government cannot.
The expectations of voters, especially Hispanic voters (who shifted toward Democrats by an astounding 28 points nationally) are high; the response to their outpouring of anger and disgust over MAGA rule cannot be a set of mealy-mouthed half measures. Defunding ICE, for instance, will be an imperative.
Other core Democratic constituents will have their demands as well. The New York Times reported:
Counties with a Black majority had drifted a little more than a percentage point toward Trump two years ago. But when the dust settled this election night, those places moved nearly 16 percentage points toward Democratic Senate candidates. The Democrats ended up beating their Republican opponents by more than 50 percentage points in some counties.
Young voters also appear to have come back to the Democratic fold after some signs they were willing to vote Republican. After counties with large numbers of 18- to 34-year-olds swung more than seven percentage points to Trump in 2024, they swerved left by nearly 23 percentage points this year.
A shift that dramatic in favor of Democrats will necessitate a dramatic shift in the agenda, both on oversight and on policy matters.
Starting with oversight, even before the midterms, a group of Democrats joined Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) in introducing articles of impeachment against Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth. Respected House Democrats, including veterans Rep. Pat Ryan of New York and Jason Crow of Colorado, have subsequently joined that call. What possible reason could there be not to pursue impeachment in the lame duck or, if it does not pass, in the new Congress against a thoroughly unfit Pentagon chief on the grounds that he, among other things, compromised battle plan security on an unsecured Signal chain, conducted extrajudicial killings on the high seas, violated the laws of war during the illegal Iran war, politicized the military, and recommended a heinous livestreamed execution? Frankly, simply by making their intentions clear, Democrats could well prompt Trump (already reportedly inquiring about whether to can him) to throw Hegseth overboard.
Likewise, Democrats must move swiftly to demand Attorney General Todd Blanche, who still refuses to comply with the Epstein Files Transparency Act, resign or face impeachment proceedings when the new Congress arrives on January 3. After an unremitting campaign of voter suppression and attempted disenfranchisement directed mainly at Hispanic voters (via a series of lawsuits and legal maneuvers repeatedly quashed and condemned as wholly without merit by courts) and weaponization of the Justice Department against Trump’s foes (as well as a miserable record of misleading and defying courts), he should be booted from office promptly.
The time-consuming process of oversight over the assorted misdeeds in the Justice Department and elsewhere can certainly proceed, but jettisoning the prime mover behind the thorough ruin of the Justice Department and the assault on the sacred right of voting should not wait. That is the sort of vibrant response Americans expect to their outpouring of anti-Trump rage.
On the policy front, Democrats will need to turn up the intensity as well. The resounding thumping delivered to Republicans and widespread anger over a violent, destructive agenda (e.g. a rogue ICE campaign, Medicaid and SNAP cuts) should prompt Democrats to agree to the shortest possible continuing resolution to keep the government open. As soon as they return in January, they can get to work on a budget that ends funding for ICE in its current form, restores Medicaid and SNAP funds, reinstates Affordable Care Act subsidies, and reverses huge tax breaks for the rich. Given the mandate they received, half-measures and weak compromises with the Trump regime would be an affront to the voters who just elected them.
Likewise, at the state level, the aspirations of newly elected Democrats need to expand. Consider the potential to pass the National Popular Vote Compact, which would award a state’s electoral votes to the winner of the national popular vote. States totaling 222 electoral votes have already passed such a measure. The 270 threshold could be passed if states with new Democratic trifectas that have not previously voted for the measure (e.g., Michigan , Pennsylvania, Nevada, Arizona, and Wisconsin) join. That would transform the 2028 presidential election into a popular vote in which a Mississippi voter’s ballot would be just as valuable as a New Hampshire voter’s, for example. There would be few more dramatic moves to open up our democracy and empower, in particular, minority voters in states usually ignored in presidential contests.
In sum, Democrats have received clear marching orders from the voters. Failure to move expeditiously and aggressively would be a gross error, risking loss of the faith temporarily entrusted to them. The voters expect big things. It would be wise not to disappoint the people who sent them to undo the horror of the MAGA era.
