After Midterm Sweep, Democrats Split in Denver Over Trump and Cost-Cutting Agenda
Fresh from a landslide in the midterm elections, Democrats met in Denver, Colorado, this week for their first major gathering since the victory, united on delivering relief from high costs but split over how to achieve it, what lessons to draw, and how combative to be toward President Donald Trump, Reuters reported on November 14.
The conference, hosted by Majority Democrats, a group that advocates for younger party leaders and against left-wing activism, offered an early glimpse of the battle to define the party's future, as prospective 2028 presidential candidates and senior leaders debated how to turn electoral success into a governing agenda. Democrats are projected to hold at least 255 seats to Republicans' 169 in the U.S. House, with 12 contests still undecided, and at least 55-44 in the Senate, with a possible additional seat in Alaska once counting is complete.
California Representative Ro Khanna, a progressive, urged Democrats to stop chasing the political center and embrace a bolder agenda including universal healthcare, a wealth tax, a $25 federal minimum wage, deep Pentagon cuts and abolishing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, a moderate, argued the party should move beyond ideological litmus tests, saying voters do not care about such debates and care instead about whether Democrats can deliver results.
James Talarico, the first Democrat elected to the U.S. Senate from Texas since 1988, urged Democrats to work with Trump, drawing tepid applause. Representative Jamie Raskin of Maryland, expected to chair the House Judiciary Committee in January, and Eric Holder, attorney general in the Obama administration, largely rejected accommodation with Trump. Democratic strategist Elaine Kamarck told Reuters a big debate was to be expected because the victory was so broad. Arizona Senator Ruben Gallego warned that the support of Hispanic voters who backed Trump in 2024 was not a love letter to the Democratic Party but a short-term loan the party must keep paying, or lose it. (Source: Reuters)
Source: Reuters
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：Denver 市区天际线全景（资料图）。BUTTON74 摄，CC BY-SA 4.0 授权，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: Panorama of downtown Denver, Colorado (file photo). By BUTTON74, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
