With the Democratic majority takeover in the Senate and House, attention will quickly move to what this majority can do about the central issue of high prices, especially while a lame-duck Donald Trump and his veto pen remain in the White House.
Apart from investigations and hearings toward “accountability,” opposition demands for “change” will require affirmative acts to make them happen.
Democratic leaders and candidates promised a “relentless” focus on lowering household expenses, targeting key areas such as housing, groceries, energy, and health care.
I’m sure we will see any number of bills proposed, even quickly, to restore public health care supports cut by Republicans and discussion about a raise in federal minimum wage or for tax credits for a variety of social services, as well as legislative demands to back off from Trump’s global tariffs or to end or defund the war with Iran.
Whether they can pass both House and Senate with veto-proof margins is questionable during the lame-duck, end-of-year congressional session or even in January, but we can expect a lot of campaign-type talk about the effort, though chastened Republicans in both houses of Congress now can may see survival in supporting votes to overturn any veto.
Trump, meanwhile, is sending mixed signals, saying both that he will work with Democrats, and, of course, planning to double-down on all his policies, including conflict with Iran and the resulting high fuel prices, without so much as a nod to the voters or newly elected legislators.
There are a million questions about whether there will be measurable, practical changes anytime soon in high prices. Among them are whether even the best well-meaning and unified Democratic majority in the House can affect gas prices, mortgage rates, or the inflationary trends that Team Trump has built. The Senate flip means a stop to Trump appointments in agencies, the military and judgeships.
Estimates from researchers are that gas prices alone are costing U.S. households an average $1,100 a year and tariffs on consumer goods another $2,000 annually. The cost of Obamacare/Affordable Care Act health coverage just surfaced with an average 13% increase per month. Home heating oil is up substantially, and supermarket and airfare prices increases look to be relatively permanent. Formally, inflation figures are outpacing wage adjustments. Some of the delayed financial impacts of Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill and tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations are just beginning to hit home.
Biggest Obstacles
Obviously, the biggest obstacle to new, additional spending on government services or supports for health care, SNAP food benefits, student loan forgiveness or childcare tax credits is that the money must come from somewhere else. Through DOGE, budget and administrative cuts, Team Trump has simply taken money from social services to give it to Homeland Security or the military or reduced the amount of tax coming in from corporations and billionaires.
That means any new legislative effort to add a service or restore fired federal workers will require either another vote on tax codes or reassignment of monies, say, from ICE, which now is receiving more money than the Pentagon to deport migrants with tactics that have angered a majority of voters.
All of it will be contentious and likely involve political ugliness and name-calling. All of it will involve presidential vetoes. The chances that Trump will reconsider his policies considering election results about Trust in Government are zero.
When the economy reflects bad news, Trump still blames his predecessor, two years and another election into his presidency. Even price skeptics note that supply lines, transportation, trade gaps turned almost war-like, and Trump intransience will make short-term attempts to provide practical declines in fuel, food and shelter prices hard to come by.
U.S. News has suggested that we will see more actions more “symbolic” or politically helpful than practical. While public support for health care for 20 million losing access and for many millions more who will face big price increases will be a focus for an incoming Congress, Trump is likely to veto any such legislation. It requires 75 percent of each house to overcome a veto. Any effort to kill tariffs must overcome opposition from domestic industries that benefit from having their foreign competition be more expensive and from some labor unions. And changing fuel prices even with a vote to end armed conflict is no guarantee on what happens to world oil prices or access through the Strait of Hormuz.
Full Agenda
Just as clear, the new Congress will have competing strains within the new majority. What brought the big tent together was opposition to Trump’s personal behaviors about corruption and self-glorification as well as his anti-populist policies.
The political makeup of the new Democratic majority covers a wide range of proposed solutions for each contentious Trump policy.
From the get-go, the incoming group is split among efforts to hold Trump accountable for his administration’s various acts – from the firing of generals to building of Trump memorials to excesses of mass deportation as well as going to war. The prospect that investigations and public hearings will take an enormous amount of time away from practical legislating is real.
Plus, there is the open question about just how fierce an uncontrolled, cornered and angry Trump will become towards the institutions of democracy and American traditions. Trump’s refusal to bow to court orders, his efforts to neutralize the power of Congress, the insistence on power-mad abuse of government agencies to promote himself look at this moment to get worse rather than better.
We need to hold the new management to its promises to work for “affordability” with the full understanding that for a variety of cirumstances may not prove an easy task to fulfill.
Terry H. Schwadron retired as a senior editor at The New York Times, Deputy Managing Editor at The Los Angeles Times and leadership jobs at The Providence (RI) Journal-Bulletin. He was part of a Pulitzer Gold Medal team in Los Angeles, and his team part of several Pulitzers in New York.