Republicans may have control of the House, Senate and White House, but Democrats have their optimism.
The GOP margin in the House is so slim it hardly exists. Donald Trump’s presidential victory could set up Democrats for a backlash election — much like 2018 — where they take advantage of his unpopularity. And the Senate margin, while comparatively larger than the House, is still well short of a filibuster-proof 60 votes.
As bad as Democrats think the election went, they now think it could have been a lot worse.
Trump’s wins in states like Michigan, Wisconsin, Arizona and Nevada easily could have propelled GOP Senate candidates to victories there. But Democratic Senate candidates pulled it out in those states, with each one outperforming Kamala Harris.
Already, Trump is demonstrating how a larger Senate majority could make a difference. The president-elect has nominated a number of widely unpopular people for Senate confirmation, including Matt Gaetz, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Pete Hegseth and Tulsi Gabbard.
While some of these nominees are likely to get through, some may not. And with those picks, Trump is showing how he plans to govern — namely, in an unafraid manner that could alienate voters and decrease his popularity.
But the brightest spot in the electoral darkness remains the House, where Trump has already nominated three House Republicans for administration positions when the GOP majority remains razor thin two weeks after Election Day.
With hardly any margin at all, Democrats see their situation for what it is: an opportunity.
“I predict that House Democrats will have the most powerful minority in the history of the House because Republicans lack anything resembling a governing majority,” Democratic Rep. Ritchie Torres told NOTUS. “Hakeem Jeffries is going to exercise considerable power.”
Another Democratic representative, Becca Balint, emphasized how fortunate Democrats were that a “red wave” didn’t gather after all but a few counties shifted right to reelect the former president.
“Trump didn’t have the coattails that, in some ways, he should have had in some districts,” Balint told NOTUS.
And because Republicans have put the “thin” in “thin majority,” Balint suggested that Speaker Mike Johnson would have the same problems he had over the last year passing any GOP priorities.
“Mike Johnson wasn’t able to wrangle his very thin majority. He has emboldened the MAGAs,” she said. “What I’m curious about is, will those governing-minded Republicans understand that for them to deliver to their constituents, they do need to partner with us?”
Democrats may see a certain political benefit of the GOP controlling the House, Senate and White House. It will be difficult for Republicans to blame anyone but themselves, rhetorically, if they aren’t able to accomplish their legislative goals.
But with hardly any majority in the House — and without 60 votes in the Senate — Republicans will struggle, practically speaking, to accomplish their objectives. That is, unless the GOP seeks out Democrats.
Democrats are in the minority, yes, but they’re not powerless.
Republican Rep. Bill Huizenga told NOTUS that, far from despairing, the Democrats he spoke with recently were cheerful.
“I can tell you that, in a couple of my conversations with some of my Democratic friends in the gym and different places, they don’t think there’s going to be much change,” Huizenga said. “One of them told me there was 24 minutes of self-congratulation on that first video or whatever conference call that they had after the election.”
Republicans are so aware of how crucial bipartisanship is this time around that even Rep. Chip Roy — a hardline conservative who insisted that a Republican trifecta means his party “needs to advance a conservative agenda” — told NOTUS that he and his colleagues will have to work with Democrats.
He was adamant that both Republicans and Democrats were to blame for “the problems in this town,” so both sides, naturally, would have to come together to solve them.
“People, they get surprised at Freedom Caucus conservatives. They’re like, ‘Oh, you’re not going to work with Democrats,’” he said. “Obviously there’ll be some big disagreements in some areas, but there’s plenty where we have to figure out how to get things done.”
Rep. Tim Burchett, another hardline Republican, noted that even though he has extremely Republican views, he still represents Democratic constituents in his district.
“I represent a lot of Democrats,” Burchett told NOTUS. “I’ll be listening.”
House Democrats have already begun drafting legislative wishlists for the upcoming congressional session. Rep. Ted Lieu, vice chair of the House Democrats, told NOTUS that Democratic leadership has begun hosting “listening sessions” with members to discuss the viability of their legislative priorities under Republican leadership.
“I like to listen, learn and gather information before I react,” he said.
Lieu wouldn’t share what legislative goals Democratic leaders were willing to pursue, but several Democrats told NOTUS they were going to go after unabashedly progressive policies next Congress.
Balint said she wants to progress on a sweeping housing bill she introduced in February that would address a housing crisis in her state.
Democratic Rep. Don Davis pointed to hurricane relief efforts in North Carolina as an area of agreement with Republicans.
“In North Carolina, look at what’s taking place out west. We definitely need disaster assistance,” he said. “That can be something that brings us together.”
And Rep. Jonathan Jackson told NOTUS that Democrats could successfully counter GOP desires to scrap the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, which assists low-income families and individuals with access to food, during farm bill negotiations.
“We need to get the farm bill passed, so there’s no negotiation, no compromise on dealing with SNAP,” he said, adding that he thought Democrats could work with Republicans on addressing the wars in Ukraine in Gaza.
“I’m very hopeful that we’ll see some positive signs on getting the wars behind us,” he said.
Of course, not every Democrat is so optimistic. That call Huizenga mentioned where Democrats spent 24 minutes congratulating each other? Huizenga added that the happy talk wasn’t “well received by everyone.”
Some Democrats, like Rep. Greg Casar, don’t see their party in the position of power that other Democrats pointed to. He said he wouldn’t use the word “power” to describe the position that Democrats find themselves in.
“Republicans have huge legislative power that, unfortunately, I know they’re going to use to help billionaires and the powers that be, not everyday people,” he said.
Casar particularly mentioned the impact Republicans would have on the courts by appointing judges for the next four years.
“Now is a moment in which Democrats have the responsibility to reform and reconstitute as a working people’s party,” he said. “Because I think that that’s one of the key things that hurt us in this election. Being the working people’s party is supposed to be the core of who we are.”
As for Rep. Steny Hoyer — the longtime No. 2 House Democrat who has a history of working with Republicans — losing the election was still a loss.
“I generally believe that losing does not have a silver lining,” he told NOTUS.
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Tinashe Chingarande is a NOTUS reporter and an Allbritton Journalism Institute fellow.