US REP. KATHERINE CLARK and fellow Democrats eyeing leadership roles in the US House and Senate will be busy over the next several weeks solidifying an agenda they hope will help the party hold onto, and possibly expand, its base of support over the next few years.
Top Democrats agree their agenda will focus on ways to lower costs including reversing Medicaid cuts and opposing tariffs proposed by President Donald Trump.
Asked by a reporter on Wednesday about priorities, New York Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, who is favored to become the next House speaker, said “we have been focused relentlessly on dealing with the affordability crisis and driving down the high cost of living.”
That includes extending Affordable Care Act premium tax credits that expired last year, lifting Trump’s tariffs, reversing cuts to Medicaid and ending the “reckless and costly war” that has driven up gas prices.
“We ran as affordability Democrats, and every single campaign had that at its center: lower costs, make sure every American has health care when and where they need it, that they can afford and hold those who are enriching themselves through corruption at taxpayers’ expense accountable and that’s exactly what we’re going to do,” Clark said during a press conference on Wednesday.
“The priority, the agenda – we cannot wait to get this big caucus together and help set that with the speaker’s vision and guidance. But I can tell you this: that every week when we come to the floor, it is going to be the people of this country who are going to be the focus of the work we do and the campaign promises made are going to be promises kept,” she said.
State lawmakers are processing a supplemental budget that features appropriations to cover explosive Medicaid spending and any changes to that program will be watched closely for fiscal impacts on the state budget and those covered by the sweeping health insurance and safety net program. Legislators now have members of the state’s congressional delegation poised to help set national policies in 2027 and 2028, although their offerings could be vetoed by President Trump.
Clark served in the Massachusetts House from 2008 until 2010 and in the state Senate from 2011 until 2013. A Revere Democrat and current minority whip, she is favored to become the next majority leader – and the first woman to hold the role – after Democrats won back control of Congress on Tuesday.
US Rep. Richard Neal, who’s viewed as the next chair of the US House Ways and Means Committee, told the News Service that he’d like restoration of ACA credits to be one of the House’s first actions. He also believes that some Republicans, who will now be in the minority party, can feel freer to oppose tariffs that President Donald Trump proposes.
“We’re likely to have a substantial majority, and they’re likely to be able to read what happened to them at this last election,” Neal said.
Neal said he and Clark are on the same page and meet regularly.
“We convene for breakfast, the Democratic leadership team every Wednesday morning at 8:15 a.m., and Katherine and I actually sit next to Hakeem Jeffries. So it’s been a good, strong relationship that we’ve had,” he said.
Democrats flipped 31 US House seats to secure 240 spots to Republicans’ 147 with 48 races yet to be called as of about 9:45 a.m. on Thursday, according to The Associated Press. In the Senate, Democrats flipped seven seats for a majority of 54-44 with two races undecided.
And as top Democrats still need the caucus’s backing to solidify their leadership roles, they will have to focus more efforts on understanding the priorities of newly elected members that flipped seats in areas that have been dominated by Republicans, said James Messner, former deputy political director for US House Majority Leader Steve Scalise.
“They’re there because of the large majority that these members in Trump-won districts have provided them, and they haven’t been on the ground talking to voters like these new members have, so they’re going to learn a lot over the next couple weeks of what is it exactly that these voters want done from these new members, and it’ll adjust the priorities,” Messner said, adding that the cost of living will likely remain House Democrats’ top priority.
Neal is aware of this reality and said he wants to craft legislation that those members can feel good about supporting as well as include them in the legislative process.
“I think there’s a reminder there for the Democratic caucus, and I think Hakeem Jeffries has understood it quite clearly, and that is that many of these members that got elected last evening – they come from purple districts. They’re likely to have major opponents in two years,” he said.
Also, while some Democrats have called for impeaching Trump, Jeffries has been less enthusiastic about the idea.
“I haven’t had a single member of the House Democratic caucus talk to me about impeachment,” he said. “We’ve been relentlessly focused on affordability and on accountability because the House is a separate and co-equal branch of government, we recognize that we don’t work for Donald Trump, we don’t work for J.D. Vance, we don’t work for the Supreme Court.”
“House Democrats are going to lead a Congress that does serve as a check and balance on an out-of-control executive branch,” Jeffries said, adding that he has not “heard from President Trump.”
To cement the caucus’s support, Clark and Jeffries – along with others seeking leadership roles – are also expected to be spending the next several days and weeks contacting newly elected members of Congress.
“Those relationships are largely intact well before Election Day, and they’re spending today calling them directly to find out ‘how can I support you in staffing your office?'” said Messner. “…A lot of these members are going to need assistance, and Jeffries and Clark are going to be that main point of contact to help them get set up.”
The idea of Jeffries and Clark leading the caucus is not new – in 2022, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi endorsed the pair along with California Rep. Pete Aguilar as the next trio of top Democrats. Also, experts say the reelection campaigns for those seeking leadership roles have also doubled as unofficial internal campaigns as they spent much of the election cycle fundraising and backing candidates.
“In a sense, that was their campaign. They were out there over the past two years proving to their colleagues that they deserve to have these leadership positions and they were raising resources, recruiting candidates, coaching those candidates, traveling to those districts, supporting them, so that when it comes time to take this vote in early January, that that it’ll be a no-brainer,” said former Democratic New Hampshire US Rep. Annie Kuster.
That’s largely the case for Neal, who was first elected to Washington in 1988. He was elected chair of the House Committee on Ways and Means in 2019 and held that post until 2023 when Republicans took control of Congress. Neal, the committee’s ranking member, told the News Service that he’s maintained “pretty good loyalty with Democratic members” and helped dozens of candidates throughout the election.
“I would anticipate that,” Neal said when asked if he viewed his support for other candidates as an unofficial campaign for chairmanship. “I also would point out that I had a pretty good run the last time I was chairman, and I would intend to certainly build upon what we did.”
