An existential question is brewing for Democrats: What does it mean to be the opposition party in a political climate that’s pulling Democrats to the right?
On the Hill, the loudest Democratic voices have urged collaboration with Republicans. But they’re about to face a push from the left to take a more confrontational approach to Trump — and it may force uncomfortable conversations about whether Democrats can keep their core values and still get things done under a GOP trifecta.
“I don’t think that means we have to agree with [Republicans] on mass deportations,” Alexandra Rojas, executive director of the progressive-leaning group Justice Democrats, told NOTUS.
Justice Democrats, which helped support the emergence of the “Squad” in the first Trump term, is returning to its roots as a Democratic pressure group by launching a national candidate recruitment drive Tuesday. The goal is to find activist candidates to run in safe blue seats, even if some of them are currently occupied by incumbents.
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As activists fight the Republican agenda, they will be watching Democrats they believe are appeasing it. This will put them at odds with Democratic lawmakers who say the election proved they need to move right — or at least be willing to play nice.
“I take to heart the results of the election,” Rep. Ritchie Torres told NOTUS. “One of the lessons learned from the election is that we might have swung the pendulum too far to the left on the issue of immigration and border security, and we have to return to a rational center.”
Early indications suggest the Torres approach — also advocated by fellow New York Democratic Rep. Tom Suozzi — is winning out among many congressional Democrats. When the House voted last week on the Laken Riley Act, 48 Democrats (some of whom were in districts they could be vulnerable in come 2026) joined Republicans in voting in favor of the immigration crackdown.
NOTUS spoke to more than a dozen House Democrats about their approach to opposition in the age of Trump. Most said their party was more likely to work with the GOP this year than the GOP was to work with them in the past. Many said Democrats have no option but to work with Republicans when must-pass legislation, such as passing government funding, tackling immigration reform and cooling an inflationary economy, is on the table. And some House Democrats argued that if a certain policy benefited their district, and Republicans were on board, why shun them?
“The intention, as it always is, members vote for policies that they feel are beneficial to the people that they represent. They vote against policies that are against,” Rep. Sanford Bishop said. “That’s what politics is.”
Rep. Kweisi Mfume offered a similar argument.
“It’s all going to be issue-oriented,” he said. “It’s going to come down to what’s best for your district. And that’s the way it should go down.”
And Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said Democrats should focus on policy, not just opposition.
“To me, all legislation is about substance, right? It’s not about opposing Trump reflexively. It’s about opposing bad legislation,” she said. “I think Donald Trump, nine times out of 10, is supporting bad legislation. But if he decides to wake up one morning and decide he’s a new man and wants to raise the minimum wage? I’ll vote for it.”
This distinction is sometimes easier said than done. The Laken Riley Act, for example, was framed by its supporters as much-needed action on immigration — just like voters wanted. But that doesn’t make it good policy, some Democrats said.
“It was a messaging bill. It was what I call a ‘gotcha’ bill,” Rep. Steny Hoyer, who voted against the bill, told NOTUS. “A young woman was killed by someone who was here in this country without authorization. None of us were for not kicking that guy out of the country.”
Rep. Marc Veasey said he predicts Trump will try to divide Democrats whenever he can by forcing tough votes.
“Trump is going to set it up that way. The way he does things, to him everything is black and white. And he’s going to create lines,” he said. “There’s not going to be any lack of battles because of what happens from the executive branch.”
Republicans have pointed to election results that show the working class increasingly favors them, leaving Democrats scrambling to win those voters back and, in some cases, ceding that past outreach failed.
While Justice Democrats suffered high-profile losses and from a general shift in the Democratic mainstream away from the left, its leaders believe it can regain its influence and push for its priorities, including rejecting corporate donations, expressing sharp opposition to U.S. policy toward Israel and calling for policy changes focused around traditional Democratic populism.
This cycle, Justice Democrats is focused on offense, creating grassroots movements around Democratic seats much like it did during the first Trump administration when it helped bring party stars like Ocasio-Cortez to power.
Some Democratic lawmakers welcome the more adversarial posture.
“We do not have time to be polite anymore,” Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove told NOTUS. “We’re going to continue to call out [Republican] bullshit. We’re going to continue to call out the hypocrisy of a billionaires boys club, of a group of elites espousing to be fighting for a working class when they’re doing anything but that.”
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Tinashe Chingarande is a NOTUS reporter and an Allbritton Journalism Institute fellow. Evan McMorris-Santoro is a reporter at NOTUS.
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