No Third Impeachment

Democrats are returning to power on the strength of the Tuesday midterm elections, having spent almost two years attacking Donald Trump over costs, chaos and corruption. The setback for the incumbent party was the worst in a midterm in more than half a century, with Republicans surrendering decades-old Senate seats and House districts gerrymandered to elect only Republicans. One item, though, does not appear on the incoming agenda: a third impeachment of Trump. Senate Republicans rescued him after his two first-term impeachments.

Hakeem Jeffries, set to become speaker of the House when the new Congress convenes after the new year, said the subject has not even reached him from his own members.

Instead, Jeffries said, the party is focused on affordability and accountability.

Healthcare First: Subsidies and Medicaid

At the top of the legislative list is healthcare. Jeffries has named two priorities: reimplementing premium tax credits for Affordable Care Act health plans, and undoing the cuts to Medicaid that Republicans approved last year. It was Democrats' demands to extend the ACA subsidies that triggered the record-long government shutdown last year, making the issue a defining fight of the minority period.

Freshman members of the centrist New Democrat Coalition, led by Kristen McDonald Rivet, see the healthcare debate differently from past intraparty fights. Rivet noted that members differ on the remedy - some back Medicare for all, others Medicare for all who want it - but said "people want big change".

• •Restore ACA premium tax credits, the fight that caused last year's record-long shutdown
• •Undo last year's Republican-approved Medicaid cuts
• •Find common ground rather than combat, in Rivet's view, with members split between Medicare for all and Medicare for all who want it

"I actually do not see that as a place of combat with other members of the caucus," Rivet said, calling the debate hopeful.

Tariffs, Costs and the Veto Problem

Beyond healthcare, Jeffries promised legislative action to force Trump to undo his tariffs and to end the conflict with Iran. Chuck Schumer, expected to be the next Senate majority leader, framed the broader agenda at the Center for American Progress, a liberal thinktank, around three promises: lower costs, make your government work for you, and clean up the corruption.

The structural constraints are steep. Trump is set to remain president until January 2029, meaning any bill lacking overwhelming support in both chambers can die by his veto. The Senate filibuster also remains in place, allowing Republicans to block Democratic legislation that does not reach 60 votes. Republicans have already rejected attempts to address the ACA subsidies and the Medicaid cuts, though one war powers resolution on Iran did pass - and Trump has so far ignored it.

Schumer acknowledged that Trump has the ability to block efforts to lower costs for American families and root out corruption in Washington, but argued voters would rebuke him for it, as they did in the election. Trump, who cannot run again in 2028, has oscillated between signaling willingness to work with Democrats and defiantly posting on social media an image of a red cap with the word "Veto" written on it.

Legislation as a 2028 Platform

Greg Casar, chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, said Wednesday the party would pass legislation rather than debate symbolic questions - so that presidential candidates are not, in his words, getting asked about plastic-straw bans. He pointed to bans on price gouging, Super Pacs and stock trading by lawmakers as priorities.

The strategy embraces the veto rather than fearing it. If Trump vetoes the bills, Casar said, that becomes the platform on which candidates can run in 2028 - and the measures can then be signed into law in 2029.

Oversight runs alongside the legislation. Robert Garcia, who will lead the House oversight panel, warned potential targets to "lawyer up". He said inquiries would cover allegations of corruption in Department of Homeland Security contracting, stock trading by lawmakers, corporate profiteering and the Jeffrey Epstein files.

Ballot counting was still ongoing; if Democrats win both outstanding Senate races, they and their allies will hold 56 seats, and majorities in both chambers are expected to be large enough that intraparty fights could be less impactful. The new Congress convenes after the new year, with Jeffries set to take the speaker's gavel and Trump holding veto power through January 2029.