As President-elect Donald Trump prepares to take the oath of workplace Monday, Massachusetts’ all-Democratic congressional delegation is bracing for the problem forward. And whereas each member of the group vows to withstand elements of Trump’s agenda, some additionally see a must seize alternatives to compromise the place doable.
Sen. Ed Markey occupies the forefront of the resistance: “We’ll struggle him each single step of the way in which,” he informed WBUR.
Markey worries that Trump’s plan to lengthen the tax cuts enacted throughout his first time period will come on the expense of packages tens of millions of People depend upon.
Trump has supplied blended messages on this. In his first time period, he promised to guard Medicare and Social Safety. However in his most up-to-date marketing campaign, he signaled a willingness to trim “waste” from the packages; he has additionally threatened to kill the Reasonably priced Care Act and shut down the Division of Training, which offers cash to assist low-income kids.
“ We’ll have an actual battle over these packages, and Massachusetts goes to have to face tall and resist his radical adjustments,” Markey stated.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren can also be bracing for battle. She says she’s keen to work with the brand new administration on efforts that assist working People, like slicing bank card rates of interest and letting folks file taxes without cost. However she is useless set towards extending the Trump tax cuts, which primarily benefitted the very rich, and in keeping with the Congressional Price range Workplace would price a budget-busting determine of near $5 trillion over the subsequent 10 years.
“When Republicans need to give away $4.5 trillion to the richest folks on this nation, I feel Democrats should be shouting a complete lot louder that that’s unhealthy, unhealthy, unhealthy,” she stated in an interview.
With Democrats within the minority, nonetheless, being louder will get them solely thus far.
“For now, their powers are very restricted,” stated Evan Horowitz, director of the Heart for State Coverage Evaluation at Tufts College. As each chambers of Congress and the White Home will now be led by Republicans, he stated, “that is going to be their each day actuality for the subsequent couple of years.”
Some members of the delegation are advocating for being rather less “loud” and just a little extra strategic.
“We won’t simply oppose all the things, or we’ll lose on all the things,” stated Rep. Seth Moulton, a reasonable who represents northeastern Massachusetts. Whereas Moulton has loads of coverage disagreements with Trump, he stated Democrats want to think twice about find out how to oppose him and may attain for compromise, when doable.
For instance, he stated Democrats ought to work with Republicans to resurrect the bipartisan immigration invoice, which Trump ordered Home Republicans to kill final fall. Quite a few progressives, together with Sens. Markey and Warren opposed that laws, however Moulton stated they need to get behind it.
“If you happen to oppose that as we speak, we’re simply going to lose on the votes, and Trump’s extra excessive immigration proposals are going to get by way of,” he stated.
Rep. Lori Trahan, who represents northern Massachusetts and serves on the Vitality and Commerce Committee, additionally stated there are alternatives to work with Republicans on quite a lot of points, together with legislative initiatives to deal with psychological well being, substance use dysfunction, dependancy and suicide prevention.
“If Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress are severe about addressing these points and dealing with Democrats to advance bipartisan options, I feel we’re going to have the ability to get issues achieved,” Trahan stated.
However, she stated, Democrats will oppose “tax cuts for billionaire donors like Elon Musk,” particularly if it might imply slicing packages that assist working households — like meals help for girls and youngsters and well being look after veterans.
“We’ll struggle again towards these efforts,” she stated.
Rep. Jake Auchincloss additionally sits within the bipartisan cooperation camp. Within the final Congress, he stated, Republicans and Democrats got here near passing laws on vitality allowing, reasonably priced housing and drug prices.
Auchincloss, whose district runs from suburban Boston to the southern a part of the state, stated Democrats ought to capitalize on Republicans’ razor-thin majority within the Home, which shall be tough for Speaker Mike Johnson to navigate.
“I feel we’ve got to take a seat again just a little bit and let Mike Johnson work out simply how exhausting it’s to rely to 218 along with his fractious convention,” Auchincloss stated, suggesting it may be smart to attend, then search for alternatives to compromise when Republicans want Democratic votes.
However like different members of the delegation, he stated Democrats ought to forcefully reject extending Trump’s tax cuts: “I am frankly completely happy to take that argument to the American folks, as a result of the Trump tax cuts are the one tax cuts in American historical past which are unpopular,” Auchincloss stated.
That may be a potent challenge for Democrats, in keeping with Horowitz. Extending the tax cuts would doubtless require slicing packages which are standard with voters, together with a lot of Trump’s supporters.
“Events within the minority usually have a profitable hand in the event that they’re affected person,” Horowitz stated, “as a result of the general public tires of whoever is in cost.”
Republicans perceive this and shall be pushing exhausting to perform as a lot as they will within the two years earlier than the Congressional midterm elections. That is when Democrats, who must regroup after November’s stinging defeat, will attempt to regain management of at the very least one chamber of Congress to allow them to test Trump’s agenda.
As Horowitz sees it, whereas Democrats are about to confront vexing instances in Washington, Republicans additionally face a stark actuality: If you’re in cost, you not often acquire help; you often lose it.
