WASHINGTON — Buckle up.
Incoming presumptive House Speaker Hakeem Jeffries is planning a legislative blitz against President Trump during the first 100 hours of Democrats’ time back in power.
During the first 100 hours, Democrats will move to revive the Biden-era enhanced Obamacare subsidies that lapsed last year, end the roughly $1 trillion in Medicaid cuts Republicans enacted, quash Trump’s tariffs, and force Trump to end the war in Iran, aides told multiple outlets.
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“We’re going to fight to make sure that we make this country affordable for every single American,” soon-to-be House Speaker Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) said after the election.
“This is a change election. And we understand as House Democrats we need to deliver dramatic change. Things are broken. We need a Congress that puts the American people first.”
The idea is to rapidly push those measures right to the House floor, in some cases before key committees are even set up, to avoid getting bogged down in procedural delays.
From there, those bills would have to clear the Senate, which is subject to a 60-vote filibuster, though some Democrats believe Republicans may not stand in their way.
“Our agenda in the House is going to reflect back what voters just clearly told us,” expected House Majority Leader Katherine Clark (D-Mass.) said at an event with progressives after the election.
“They voted to end the war. They voted to end the tariffs,” she went on. “They voted to end the catastrophic cuts to health care … and they voted to end the corrupt pay-to-play.”
The first 100-hour blitz is widely seen as a way for Democrats to notch easy victories right away to capitalize on their mammoth majority in the lower chamber.
Seemingly every faction of the Democratic coalition had a romp on Election Day, including the left flank of the party, which wants to foist its hardcore progressive agenda on the country.
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“The American people spoke loudly and clearly on Tuesday,” Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) declared on X Thursday. “The new Democratic majority cannot continue the same old, same old establishment policies.”
Sanders urged Democrats to lower the Medicare age to 55 and expand benefits to include dental, hearing, and vision. The Vermont Independent believes all of that is doable using the Senate budget reconciliation process.
The self-described democratic socialist, who has considerable sway among House progressives, also wants a ban on AI data centers, a pause on advanced AI development, and a ban on so-called “artificial superintelligence” — defined as machines being smarter than humans.
Other Democrats have made similar calls for onerous restrictions on AI development.
“Top of the Democratic agenda on day 1 needs to be a pause on advanced AI development, regulation of this out-of-control industry, and a ban on artificial superintelligence,” Rep. Yassamin Ansari (D-Ariz.) posted on X.
Due to the size of the Democratic majority, moderates within the party theoretically have enough of a buffer to stop an effort by the left flank to challenge or overthrow leadership if it keeps more to the center.
Trump has also teased plans to become “Mr. Veto” and stop Democrats on the most lefty elements of their agenda. But he has also expressed a willingness to work with Democrats to cut deals wherever possible.
Some Democrats, such as Sen.-elect James Talarico (D-Texas), have expressed interest in trying to work with Trump to hash out a comprehensive immigration reform deal.
Jeffries noted that Democrats will be “ready, willing and able to find bipartisan common ground.”
But a big focus of Democrats will be using their newfound powers in various congressional committees to put Trump, his administration, his family, and his allies under the microscope.
“I will use every tool available to investigate the Trump Crime Family, corporate corruption, ICE immigration enforcement abuses, and the Epstein cover-up,” expected House Oversight Committee Chairman Robert Garcia (D-Calif.) declared in a letter to colleagues.
Efforts to probe Trump aren’t able to be vetoed by Trump or stymied by a Senate filibuster. They will also help Democrats score political points by digging up dirt on Trump and his allies.
There has also been interest in impeaching Secretary of War Pete Hegseth. Outgoing libertarian-leaning Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) introduced articles of impeachment against the macho Pentagon boss in September that are set to ripen when the House gavels back into session next week.
If that impeachment effort fails, as expected, Democrats may try to give it another shot next year when their mammoth majority takes over.
With the Senate majority they just won, Democrats will also be able to block Trump’s key judicial nominees and undermine his ability to fill key vacancies in his administration with his preferred picks.
