I still have the T-shirt Nancy Pelosi gave all House Democrats in 2021 with the slogan “Diversity is our Strength, Unity is our Power.” In its goofy way, it captured the spirit of that tiny Democratic majority. With just a five-seat margin in the House, and a 50-50 tie in the Senate, plus the challenge of uniting Bernie Sanders progressives and Joe Manchin moderates, Democrats managed to enact massive infrastructure, clean energy, and domestic manufacturing investments, cheap health insurance for millions of middle-class Americans, lower prescription drug prices, and even a modest gun safety law.
The Democrats’ “hang together or hang separately” ethos has carried over into the current Congress. They’ve played their weak hand pretty well — using procedural maneuvers to force and win votes on everything from ending the Iran War to releasing the Epstein files to canceling Trump’s tariffs. The Republicans, on the other hand, despite controlling all branches of government, have led the least productive Congress in modern history, with surprisingly little of the Trump/MAGA agenda etched into permanent law.
In some ways, this is good. A competent pro-Trump majority would have enacted laws codifying his tariffs, his cancellation of foreign aid, his mass deportations without due process, and voter-suppression schemes. Instead, federal courts have stymied him again and again by enforcing laws Congress has left in place.
In other ways, the dysfunction hurts. There was a time when self-respecting members of Congress would have stood up to blatant corruption even by a president of their party; not this group of Republicans. Nor have they shown any interest in bipartisan deals on big challenges (as pre-Trump Republicans often did). So, immigration remains broken; we’re fighting climate change with air conditioning; artificial intelligence lacks guardrails; and no one expects this Congress to act. It’s a good day when it merely keeps the government open. (Even partisan Republican bills aren’t passing — Sen. Ted Cruz, of all people, has complained that House Republicans are not taking up any bills that passed the Senate. In fact, the current House has passed only 21 percent of Senate passed bills — the lowest rate this century —despite Republican control of both houses. Overall, the current Republican Congress under Trump has enacted fewer bills than any in the last 50 years — even fewer than a Republican majority managed under Joe Biden!)
That’s one reason why I think Republicans will lose the House and Senate in November. But what will the Democrats do if they win? Every American working for that goal should have a realistic sense of what can and can’t be achieved.
Let’s start with the realism.
In 2027, Donald Trump will still control the regulatory arms of government and wield a veto pen. The narrow majorities Democrats can hope to win will not be enough to overcome GOP filibusters in the Senate or to override Trump vetoes of whatever bills they pass. We should also remember that if Democrats do win majorities, the margin they’ll need to pass anything will come from newly elected members representing purple states and districts, who will be more cautious than the Democratic base demands. (One wild card here is that Trump has asked Senate Republicans to get rid of the filibuster this year to pass his horrible voter suppressing SAVE Act. I’d go along with that if I were in the Senate — even at the risk letting more GOP bills pass for what’s left of this congressional term — and then take full advantage if Democrats win the majority next year. But I doubt Senate Republicans will actually be dumb enough to let this happen with almost no time left before the midterms, so I’m assuming here that the filibuster will stay in place.)
Still, there will be big opportunities. Let’s look at four possible lines of effort:
Investigating
Democrats chairing investigative committees (like Jamie Raskin of Maryland and Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island, who will likely lead the House and Senate Judiciary committees) will have subpoena power and a target-rich environment: The president’s crypto schemes and other money-making foreign deals. The alleged selling of pardons. Shakedowns of American companies to fund vanity projects. Selling advance notice of policy announcements to Wall Street investors. Denying federal grants to states that voted for Democrats. Defiance of court orders.
The purpose of investigations should be to deter, not just shame. Yes, Trump may eventually pardon his partners in crime. But that won’t protect them from state-level prosecution or from U.S. sanctions (if they’re foreign nationals), or shield companies involved in corrupt acts from criminal and financial penalties. Congressional committees can build an evidentiary case for action by a future administration and signal that henceforth anyone with something to gain or lose from the U.S. government who buys Trump bitcoin or a piece of his ballroom will be exposed, questioned, and potentially held accountable. That’s a risk I expect a lot fewer people will take starting in 2027.
Blocking
From 2019 to 2020, Democrats controlled only the House of Representatives, but that was enough to prevent first-term Trump from getting a single bill through Congress without their assent. In his last two years, if Democrats win even just one chamber, there will be no more gutting of federal programs and agencies, no more tax breaks for billionaires, no additional restrictions on voting rights, no new tariff authorities, and no money for ballrooms or statues.
If Democrats win the Senate, there will also be no new Supreme Court justices and no more MAGA loyalists who’d rule that two plus two equals five if Trump asked them to. This is especially important because, if blocked by Congress, Trump will double down on unconstitutional executive orders that will have to be struck down by the courts.
Fixing
Can a 2027 Democratic majority undo any of Trump’s policies and abuses of power? Yes, within limits. The best chances will come when Congress takes up bills that everyone agrees must become law: appropriations bills to fund the government, the annual national defense bill, the farm bill (which was supposed to get done this year), and the next extension of the federal debt ceiling, likely next year.
Members of Congress often attach their legislative priorities to these “must-pass” bills. To get their riders considered, Republicans will need to accept some of what the Democrats want, so there will be room for negotiation to get the filibuster-proof 60 votes in the Senate even on some things (if not many) that Trump doesn’t like. The trick for Democrats will be to choose their battles, setting up potential veto confrontations with Trump that he’ll lose in the court of public opinion or prefer to avoid.
The first test may be a government funding bill early next year. If that doesn’t pass, or if Trump vetoes it, the government will shut down. Democrats may use it to force a fight on restoring the devastating cuts to Medicaid that will hit Americans in January, 2027, or at least to ease their impact. They could try to prohibit Trump from shifting resources and personnel from real law enforcement to chasing non-criminal immigrants and to add restrictions on ICE operations that moderate Republicans can accept. They could restore some of the aid to Ukraine that Trump axed. They could make it harder for the president to refuse to spend money that Congress appropriates. They could deny non-essential funding to the Supreme Court until it adopts an ethics code.
The farm bill will give Democrats a chance to demand restoration of SNAP nutrition benefits for low-income kids. In the defense bill, Democrats could strengthen existing provisions that prevent Trump from abandoning our allies and go after his corrupt foreign dealings. Would he veto a bill that gives our troops a pay raise if it also prohibits him from personally accepting crypto payments from foreign countries? Maybe! But that would be a good fight to have.
Imagining
The first ten bills Democrats introduce in January 2027 probably won’t become law while Trump is president. Their aim will be to show Americans what unites the party and what it hopes to do if it wins back the White House in 2028. I’d expect a big focus on lowering healthcare and energy costs, a pragmatic and humane immigration bill, anti-corruption and other laws to prevent future abuse of presidential powers, electoral and campaign finance reforms, a vision for rebuilding demolished and demoralized federal agencies, and, I hope, a comprehensive effort to safeguard artificial intelligence. Come to think of it, there may be a chance to legislate on that last one in 2027 and 2028 given how much Americans of both parties worry about AI — especially as Trump’s power diminishes.
It will be essential to remember that the mission of the next Congress, if Democrats earn control, will be to keep things from getting worse and to restore checks and balances, so that the long process of renewal can begin. It will not be to resolve the argument between centrist and progressive Democrats — if either side prioritizes winning power in the party over winning power for the party, the opportunity will be lost. In short, the Democratic majority’s task will be to save America, not to change it; the more fundamental change Americans demand will require winning the White House, too.
I’m optimistic that Democrats will rise to an occasion that demands discipline and unity, because they’ve done it consistently these past few years. And we’ll all be there to remind them if they falter.
If you have any questions, please pose them in the comments and I’ll try to respond.
Tom Malinowski is a former member of Congress from New Jersey who was an assistant secretary of state in the Obama administration.
Thank you Tom, for a for a smart and excellent plan. I hope that those who need to hear it the most, hear it.
"They (Democrats) could deny non-essential funding to the Supreme Court until it adopts an ethics code."
I'd like to see that. But how would it be enforced?