Dozens of Democratic House freshmen descended on the Hill this week for new member orientation as their party starts debating how exactly it’ll flex its newfound power.
More than 100 incoming members and prospects — overwhelmingly Democrats, but also new Republicans — flooded the halls of Capitol Hill Sunday, with vibes landing somewhere between excitement and newbie nervousness.
“I promised my voters that I would come here and get to work right away. So I’m really eager to work with our leadership, find out an agenda for getting affordability, addressing the corruption that’s costing Americans money, and getting to work,” incoming Democrat Rep. Fred Wellman of Missouri told POLITICO.
And while some of the more lighthearted conversations were focused on wanting to get to know Montana’s newest incoming member – i.e. the smoke-jumping Sam Forstag, who Massachusetts’ Dan Koh said he had a gym session with along with Colorado’s Manny Rutinel — the party is already deliberating how to wield the mandate millions of American voters just handed them.
First up this week: the future of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, poised to be speaker next year, told ABC News over the weekend he’s a “hard yes” on impeaching the man leading President Donald Trump’s war effort in Iran.
We’re watching for how many Republicans may join him in that House vote after Democrats pummeled the GOP’s war support in the midterms. Even if the secretary survives the vote — expected by the end of this week — another reckoning is likely to come early next year, when Democrats take control of both chambers of Congress (more on the impeachment move below).
Jeffries this week is also poised to have many of his first in-person conversations with new members as he grapples with the politically tricky decision of how to handle Trump.
Some incoming red-district freshmen want to see Jeffries attempt to collaborate with the president, while plenty of others don’t want compromise.
Jeffries will have to balance his base’s desire to fight back on what they see as the administration’s excesses with party promises made during the campaign to lower costs ahead of 2028 — or at least be seen trying.
Hard-left Rep.-elect William Lawrence of Michigan said in an interview, “We’ll have to put the ball in the president’s court to see what he does.”
“And I hope that he will sign those bills, but we should push him to do so and make clear that Democrats are here to legislate on behalf of the American people and advance popular policies,” he said.
Read also: Trump says his deportation agenda was ‘too tough,’ repeating interest in a deal with Dems
What else we’re watching:
— HEGSETH IMPEACHMENT LIKELY, GOP MEMBERS SAY: The House is expected to vote on impeaching Hegseth this week — and depending on post-election attendance — the measure could easily pass. Rep. Thomas Massie is expected to file new articles of impeachment Monday to force a House vote, replacing the measure he filed before the midterms. Massie shared an advance copy with POLITICO. Several House Republicans believe the upcoming Hegseth impeachment measure will pass after Tuesday’s catastrophic losses, with some members hungry to place blame for the party’s defeats. Even if only a few Republicans support the measure, dozens of GOP members who lost their seats could skip votes entirely this week.
— SENATE STARTS PERMITTING VOTE — Senators Monday hold their first procedural vote on the bipartisan permitting deal reached before the election, but the bill’s fate is anything but clear. Supporters say the lame-duck session represents the last, best opportunity to pass legislation to speed up approvals for energy projects, with little expectation that the next Congress, led by Democrats, will be able to reach an agreement with the Trump administration. But newly-empowered Democrats wary of compromise, opposition from key congressional leaders and tribes and other roadblocks could derail the legislation in the coming weeks. POLITICO outlines the issues that could determine where lawmakers ultimately land on the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act.
Leo Shane III, Meredith Lee Hill and Nico Portuondo contributed to this report.
