Democrats are using their midterm win to assemble a post-election relief agenda focused on grocery, gas and healthcare costs, while preparing investigations into corporate practices they say are driving up household bills.
Trump’s veto power is the main constraint: measures he opposes would need Republican defections, pushing Democrats toward a split strategy of bills he might sign and others aimed at sharpening anti-Republican messaging.
Key early targets include ending tariffs that Democrats say cost households $1,110 this year, rolling back ACA subsidy cuts and Medicaid work rules, and reviving healthcare antitrust and private-equity curbs.
The policy scramble is already intense in the lame-duck period, with Illinois Governor JB Pritzker circulating a 75-page, 200-item agenda and House and Senate Democrats setting up affordability and healthcare working groups.
Beyond legislation, Democrats plan hearings and probes into oil, airline, tech, banking and grocery companies, tying corporate profits, pricing practices and Trump-era favoritism to a broader affordability push.