House Democrats say they’re headed back to power. Their agenda is a work in progress

LEESBURG, Va. (AP) — Gathered at a resort in suburban Virginia, House Democrats this week were acting like a party on the verge of reclaiming power as they drafted policy blueprints and spoke confidently about election victories in November.

“We’re here at this issues conference to talk amongst each other and with outside stakeholders and experts about a bold, meaningful, transformational path forward,” said House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York.

After a punishing 2024 cycle, many Democrats believe the high cost of living as well as voter frustration with President Donald Trump’s second term have put the majority in the House well within their reach. But beneath the confidence is a quieter uncertainty: Beyond opposing Trump, Democrats face the defining challenge of developing a unifying policy agenda capable of holding together a party undergoing generational and ideological change.

Any Democratic majority would immediately use subpoena power against the Republican administration, something they have been unable to do in the minority. But beyond that, while members agree on the problems facing voters — affordability, immigration enforcement and countering Trump — fissures remain between the party’s progressive left and its more centrist wing.

“We can’t be just anti-Trump,” said Michigan Rep. Debbie Dingell, the caucus’ policy leader. “We have to have an agenda.”

Unity in opposition

The party’s internal tensions were laid bare during the 2024 election and in the months afterward as Democrats argued over messaging on immigration, the economy and foreign policy. But when Trump returned to power and moved quickly to implement his agenda, those disagreements receded as Democrats moved to an opposition footing.

In the House, Democrats have rallied together to challenge Trump’s policies, forcing — and succeeding on — votes opposing tariffs and requiring the release of Department of Justice files related to Jeffrey Epstein.

“We have become the most effective minority party in U.S. history,” said California Rep. Ted Lieu, vice chair of the House Democratic Caucus.

But after more than three years as the minority party in the House, Democrats say the political environment is shifting. Looking back to November, they point to the ballot initiative in California to redraw congressional maps, along with strong gubernatorial performances in Virginia and New Jersey.

Since then, Democrats say there have been other overperformances to show their momentum, such as flipping a state Senate district in Texas this month in an area that Trump had won by 17 percentage points in 2024.

“It’s going to be a sprint” to Nov, 3, Election Day, Jeffries said. “House Democrats are on the verge of a takeover.”

The harder task is governing

If Democrats reclaim the House, their most immediate power would be oversight. Committee chairs would gain subpoena authority and the ability to compel testimony — tools that leaders say would be used aggressively to scrutinize the administration.

“Make no mistake, oversight will be muscular and significant,” said Colorado Rep. Joe Neguse, a member of the House Judiciary Committee.

House Democratic Caucus leader Pete Aguilar of California said that “when it comes to oversight and accountability, it is a target-rich environment.” But he also said Democrats cannot rely on investigations alone.

The standoff over funding for the Department of Homeland Security has illustrated how resistance can unify the caucus. Democrats have largely held together in opposition, using their leverage to outline demands for accountability.

Yet divisions remain.

Some high-profile progressives, including Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Ilhan Omar of Minnesota and Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts, have called for abolishing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Party leaders and more centrist members, wary of overreach, have instead advocated major changes, raising questions about whether resolving the shutdown could expose deeper splits.

“We cannot allow a federal agency — one that was created for one purpose to terrorize — to function as an occupying force in our communities,” Omar, whose district includes Minneapolis and surrounding suburbs, said on the House floor this month. “Real accountability starts with abolishing ICE.”

A previous shutdown fight underscored how compromise can strain that cohesion. When some Democratic senators agreed to reopen the government without securing an extension of key health care subsidies, backlash from the party’s left flank was intense.

“The American people asked us over and over to fight for health care and to lower our costs overall,” Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., said at the time. “Obviously that broke apart at the end.”

‘A closing argument’

The week’s policy conference came and went with few specifics attached to the “bold, meaningful, transformational path forward” that Jeffries previewed at the outset. Instead, members coalesced around broad themes — lowering costs, protecting health care and drawing contrasts with Trump — while leaving the details for later.

“That’s the work that we’re still to do,” said Illinois Rep. Nikki Budzinski when asked about what House Democrats’ first bill would be in a new majority. “We’ve rolled out nine different frameworks. All of them are equally important, I think, to address affordability, which is our coalition’s goal. It’s hard to say that there’s one silver bullet.”

Democrats’ “Six for ’06” agenda was not unveiled until the fall of 2006, weeks before voters handed them the majority. In 2018, the party campaigned under the “For the People” banner months before translating it into legislation once Democrats were in power.

“I expect to refresh our core message frame ahead of a closing argument for this fall,” said Illinois Rep. Lauren Underwood. “The closing argument was 6 for ‘06. Closing argument in 2018 was ‘For the People,’ right? So, we’re going to have a closing argument message frame that you all be delighted and wowed by as we head into the fall election season.”

Still, the closer Democrats believe they are to reclaiming the majority, the more pressing the agenda becomes. Oversight may be the most immediate tool of a new majority. Sustaining power and shaping the party’s direction beyond a single election cycle will require more than subpoenas.

“What we tell our members and what we tell candidates who are running is we have to do all of the things,” Aguilar said. “We have to do oversight and accountability, and we have to talk about the affordability agenda and how we’re going to make life better for people if we are given the opportunity to lead.”

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AP Congressional Correspondent Lisa Mascaro contributed to this report.