Chastened Democrats back GOP on immigration, economy

Asked if he’s ready to become the face of the Democratic party in the wake of the 2024 presidential election, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., sidestepped the question.

“It’s my honor to serve as House Democratic Leader. We’re going to stand up on behalf of everyday Americans as a caucus, as a unit, as a team,” Jeffries told reporters at his weekly press briefing Thursday morning. “We recognize that House Democrats are on the front lines of many of the battles that will be fought in the years to come,” he added.

But the question points to a more serious concern for Democrats as they evaluate an election in which they lost control of the Senate and the White House, and failed to flip the House of Representatives. Who will rise to become the face of their party? And on what platform?

Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., the ranking member on the powerful Rules Committee, says he’s looking to voters to help answer questions like that.

“We’re doing listening sessions. I was with [Jeffries] in one in Massachusetts and we’re doing them all over the country not with people that support us but with people that didn’t,” McGovern said. “They’re constructive. I’m setting up some town halls a week from Saturday.”

The moment of ambiguity has opened the door for some Democrats to support ideas the party largely campaigned against in 2024. The Laken Riley Act, an immigration enforcement bill, got little traction last year among Democrats in both chambers of Congress. But less than a week into President Donald Trump’s second term, enough Democrats supported the bill to pass it 64-35, handing the new president a bipartisan win. The bill passed the House of Representatives on Wednesday evening in a 263-156 vote.

Asked about the Laken Riley Act and the support it garnered from 46 House Democrats on Wednesday evening, Jeffries said that was an individual consideration for members.

“We’re not concerned about the politics of any issue. We’re concerned about doing the right thing for the districts we represent,” Jeffries said. “We will work with anyone to secure our border, with anyone to fix our broken immigration system.”

Other Democrats, some with an eye toward the 2026 midterms, are bringing up issues of immigration and border security, largely Republican talking points in years past. Rep. Brad Schneider, D-Ill., is the chairman of the New Dems Caucus, a coalition of over 100 Democrats focused on the economy and the middle class.

“First of all, our unity is what gives us our voice, but our voice needs to be focused on the things that voters care most about. That’s the economy, that our kids have good opportunities, that we have healthy and safe communities, crime in general, strong defense and national security. That’s what we’re going to focus on,” Schneider said.

When asked about Jeffries, Schneider said the party is squarely behind the minority leader but added that Democrats need to be ready to adjust to the wishes of voters.

“I say this for all of us: The more we listen, the better we listen, the better we hear the things people care about, the better we will do in the next election,” Schneider said.

Matthew Green, professor of politics at Catholic University, says Democrats’ dance toward the middle isn’t particularly surprising—or new—for parties in a similar situation.

“Democrats are in what they call the ‘deep minority,” Green said, referencing Republican control across Congress and the White House. “It’s quite normal for a minority party to want immediate resistance and immediate opposition [to the majority], but that almost never happens. So, what you do is you let members have some leeway to vote for their own political protection. And this is the art of leadership: You’ve got to know when and what issues you use to try to build unity.”

Green recalled a similar moment in the passage of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009 that garnered Republican votes in both chambers of Congress. That vote came on the heels of a decisive presidential victory for Barack Obama.

Green believes that a similar moment now presents Republicans with the opportunity to advance legislation that Democrats will struggle to rally against until they figure out their messaging priorities. But he stressed that the moment has limits.

“It never lasts,” Green said. “It [ends] sometimes because the minority party find something they want to rally around, but it also happens when the majority overreach, when they try to pass things that are just too far for the minority.”

To some Democrats, the target for opposition is already emerging. Republicans have proposed an ambitious agenda that includes far-reaching spending cuts. McGovern, the lawmaker from Massachusetts, says that plans to cut nutrition programs proposed in early drafts of the 2026 budget are “appalling.” He believes that, along with other Republican priorities, will generate political blowback all on its own.

“They claim they have their great big mandate? Well, they can put on their mandate pants and pass all the [stuff] they’re proposing but without our votes,” McGovern said.