“Democrats won the House and Senate, but easing the financial strain on many Americans would take legislation, and that requires the President’s signature, which will be hard to come by,” Zandi recently wrote in a post on X.
Democratic lawmakers have already started identifying specific priorities to pack into an affordability agenda once they take control of both the House and Senate on Jan. 3, 2027. Many Democrats, for example, are focused on unwinding the Medicaid cuts that the Trump administration enacted, which will go into effect in the new year. They also want to end the Iran War, reinstate defunct Affordable Care Act tax credits that shrink premium payments and reclaim tariff authorities from the executive branch.
“We’ve made clear to anyone out there who’s been stealing from the American people, shortchanging the American people or screwing over the American people that, beginning on day one, we’re going to hold the crooks accountable and disrupt business as usual,” House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said in an October interview with MS NOW.
Pressure points from Democrats
This stretch of divided government will likely continue for two more years, only this time, Democrats have real oversight options available due to their control of the legislative branch with padded majorities.
Zandi said he expects Democrats will use a range of tactics to put pressure on Trump to end the Iran War, which has driven up gas prices and contributed to the ongoing cost-of-living crisis in America. Among the tactics are a litany of hearings, tougher oversight and a war powers resolution that reasserts Congress’ power in declaring armed conflict.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts has already stated her intent to probe corruption in corporate America, as well as her desire to push Democrats to dare Trump into vetoing popular measures, such as barring AI surveillance pricing and lifting the federal minimum wage.
“It would be a tremendous breach of faith with Americans if Democrats spend the next few years railing against Trump and waiting for some future Democratic trifecta before we deliver real change,” she told the New York Times.
Zandi estimates the Iran War has cost American families $2,200 so far, mostly in the form of higher energy prices. “Ending the war would ease costs for oil, diesel, jet fuel and home heating,” Zandi said on X.
‘The president will need Democratic votes’
For his part, Trump has expressed a willingness to strike bipartisan deals with Democrats, particularly on the vexing issue of immigration. He cracked the door open for undocumented landscapers, hotel maids and others who are already paying taxes to be conferred a pathway to legal status.
