Millions of Americans lost Affordable Care Act tax credits when they expired in 2025. House Democrats now say restoring them will be among their first moves if voters give them a majority next month. The party is preparing a 100-day agenda focused on lowering costs and extensive oversight of the Trump administration; work would start in the first 100 hours after the new Congress convenes in January.
Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries, who's in line to become speaker if Democrats win, said the party would unite “right out of the gate” around four goals: restoring the ACA tax breaks, reversing Republican Medicaid cuts, holding votes against the Iran war and undoing President Donald Trump's tariffs.
“Fighting for an affordable America — that's what unites Democrats all across the country,” Jeffries said recently at the party campaign headquarters in Washington. He described a country where “the cost of living is way too high and far too many people who are working hard, playing by the rules, can't thrive and can barely survive — and are drowning — in the Trump economy.”
The Policy Plan
The agenda targets voters’ worries about affordability and the inflationary costs tied to the Iran war and other policies. Democrats plan an early vote to restore the health care tax credits. Their expiration left millions of Americans facing higher insurance costs. Democrats also have proposals to reverse Medicaid cuts enacted through the “One Big Beautiful Bill,” which paired tax breaks with program cuts and added new work requirements for recipients.
On trade, Democrats plan measures to reverse Trump's tariffs as Congress tries to reclaim power from the White House. On Iran, they'll press the administration to end military action by advancing more war powers resolutions. Democrats have already forced multiple votes on ending the conflict.
Months ago, Jeffries formed five working groups on affordability: healthcare, housing, groceries and goods, gas and utilities, and caregiving. A progressive and a centrist lead each group. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and Rep. Terri Sewell of Alabama lead the healthcare group, tasked with drafting policies every House Democrat can support.
Oversight and Accountability
Jeffries also directed the ranking Democrats on the House Oversight and Judiciary committees to prepare investigations into Trump, his family and his administration as part of an anti-corruption effort. He has said impeachment is neither on nor off the table.
“We need to lower the cost of groceries and gas. Two, we need to make healthcare affordable for every single American. Three, we're going to hold the crooks accountable who've visited unprecedented corruption on the American people,” Jeffries said. “Beginning on day one.”
Can the Caucus Hold Together?
The plan will also test whether Democrats can govern without the infighting that has hindered Republicans under Speaker Mike Johnson. Democrats have been out of power in the House since 2023. If Jeffries becomes speaker, he'd be the first Democratic speaker since Nancy Pelosi, leading a new generation that includes several far-left candidates aligned with the Democratic Socialists of America.
Rep. Nikki Budzinski of Illinois, poised to chair the New Democrat Coalition, the largest caucus within House Democrats, said the answer to doubts is “getting things done.” She said Democrats want to show Americans that “Democrats know how to govern.”
Rep. Greg Casar of Texas, chairman of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, rejected comparisons to the Freedom Caucus. “It doesn't work that way,” he told The Associated Press. “The Freedom Caucus breaks things. But if you're a progressive, you want to pass things.” Rep. Troy Carter of Louisiana, who hopes to chair the Congressional Black Caucus, put it bluntly: “All those banking on that, save the popcorn for another day.”
Usamah Andrabi, a spokesman for Justice Democrats, an outside group backing far-left progressives, offered a warning from the party's left flank: “We cannot simply go back to the status quo.”
The Republican Response
Republicans face a tougher election-year environment as they try to keep their majority, and portray Democrats as beholden to a far-left socialist agenda. If Republicans retain power, Johnson said, they'd continue what they've done with Trump, focusing on tax cuts and federal spending cuts. “What we would do in the next two years is exactly what we have been doing already,” Johnson said on CNBC's Squawk Box, “and that is putting the conditions in place for a strong America again.”
That path produced the Medicaid cuts and work requirements Democrats want to undo, along with the expired health credits that left millions of Americans paying more for coverage.
The agenda's reach will depend partly on the size of the House majority and whether Democrats also win the Senate. Trump would retain veto power. “We're going to do a lot and we're going to be very busy,” Carter said. “We will not be able to fix everything overnight.”
Why This Matters:
This fight is about who pays for health care, groceries and gas, and who gets protection when costs climb. The expired ACA credits left millions of Americans facing higher insurance costs, while Medicaid cuts and new work requirements change who can keep coverage under a program built as a safety net. Democrats are betting voters want Congress to use its power over taxes, tariffs and war powers to ease those burdens and investigate an administration they accuse of corruption. Republicans are betting on tax and spending cuts. Voters will choose between those visions next month, and a Trump veto would limit what either side can finish. Either way, the outcome shapes household budgets and the reach of congressional oversight.