After suffering brutal injuries in the 2024 elections, Washington Democrats are ready to play defense for much of the next two years against President-elect Donald Trump and the resurgent GOP.
But before they can try to counter a republican trioDemocrats have an important question to answer: Who is in charge?
The leader of the Democratic Party, President Joe Bidenwill leave the White House in January, and Vice President Kamala Harris should be largely sidelined after his defeat in 2024. On Capitol Hill, the two party leaders will be in the minority and will have limited power to stop the Trump agenda. As Democrats face a leadership vacuum, lawmakers and organizers told USA TODAY they will find a path forward and their colleagues will be ready to step up their efforts.
“We need to understand what went wrong,” said Jim Manley, a longtime Democratic strategist and former aide to former Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. “But in the meantime, we don’t have a leader. “There are a lot of people contributing to the debate.”
“It’s going to be really important to give the next generation of leaders a bigger microphone, because I think we saw that the last generation just couldn’t do it,” added Amanda Litman, a former member of the presidential campaign of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. and now co-founder and executive director of Run for Something, a progressive organization that recruits and supports young candidates.
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Who are the rising Democratic stars ready to take on their Republican colleagues and the Trump administration — at least until the 2026 midterms and the start of the 2028 presidential campaign? And how will they work with Republicans to try to avoid government shutdowns and pass crucial legislation? Here’s what you need to know.
Who are the Democratic stars?
The party as a whole has a number of prominent figures including governors like Josh Shapiro from Pennsylvania and Gavin Newsom of California, as well as Biden administration officials such as outgoing Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. They all gained national attention as potential running mates for Harris — and when they hit the campaign trail after she chose Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. All are considered potential candidates to run for the White House in four years, when Trump’s term expires.
In the halls of Congress, several Democratic lawmakers have made a name for themselves – or promise to do so.
Elections for 119th Congress saw a number of history makers. Rep. Andy Kim, D-N.J., became the first Korean-American senator, while Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester, D-Del., and Democrat Angela Alsobrooks of Maryland became their states’ first black senators. Their victories mark the first time two black women will sit at the same time in the Upper House.
Sarah McBride, a Delaware state lawmaker, will also be sworn into the House next year, becoming the first openly transgender person to serve in Congress.
Still, not all of the new members are ready to lead the Democrats. Other featured figures, including returning Representatives and existing leaders, such as House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y.
However, these Democrats will not be able to do much without reaching agreements or compromises with the Republicans in power. There’s no chance, for example, that Congress is about to take up any of Harris’ campaign promises, like reinstate Roe. v. Wade’s protections.
They could count on the threshold of 60 votes set by the Senate to block right-wing priorities in the Upper House. The Republicans will have difficulty overcoming the obstacle with a majority of 53 to 47.
But these leaders, and their Democratic colleagues, won’t just try to block the Trump administration. Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., said he believes Democrats are a “great caucus” but that when it comes to legislation, they will take it “issue by issue.”
“I don’t see this as a showdown between Democrats and Republicans,” said Booker, a former 2020 Democratic presidential candidate and close friend of Harristold USA TODAY. “I see it as being on the right side of issues, which is what Democrats have a history of doing.”
Rep. Shri Thanedar, D-Mich., who represents parts of Detroit and surrounding areas, agreed that the parties will always be able to find common ground.
“There are many opportunities for collaboration,” Thanedar said. “There is a time to fight and there is a time to work together…There will be plenty of opportunities to do both.”
A moment for the youngest
This is a time especially for young Democratic leaders to take over, Litman said.
“I think this will be an opportunity for some of them to show what fighting back looks like,” she said.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., has already established herself as a de facto leader for the younger, more progressive wing of the party. With her is Millennial Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, known for going face to face with the Republicans like Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga.
Rep. Maxwell Frost, Democrat of Florida, was elected in 2022 as the first Gen Z member to Congress, and he made headlines for driving for Uber to make ends meet during his campaign. He’s coming back next year. for a second term and the chance to develop its national profile.
“I like him, I think he’s a good guy,” Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., said of his younger colleague.
Where do the Democrats go from here?
Despite the emergence of a Democratic bench in Congress and in states across the country, the left still has a difficult battle to fight in Washington following these elections. So how does the party go from here?
“I have no idea,” Manley said.
“We got screwed last week, and anyone who suggests otherwise needs to have their head examined,” he added.
One MP, who has been a star of the left for decades, had some ideas. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., offered a scathing critique in the wake of the 2024 election.
“It’s no surprise that a Democratic Party that has abandoned the working class will find that the working class has abandoned them,” Sanders said in a statement last week, hours after the presidential election was called for Trump.
“While Democratic leaders defend the status quo,” said Sanders, a former Democratic presidential candidate in 2016 and 2020, “the American people are angry and want change. And they are right.”
Contributor: Sudiksha Kochi