00:00So precisely as we were saying, Democrats have won control of both chambers of Congress after Tuesday midterm elections, raising
00:08questions about what is next.
00:10Our correspondent Dan Albright will bring us the details from Boston.
00:15Hey, yes, Democrats are celebrating what some have called a blue NAMI today.
00:21So can they go back to brunch? Maybe not.
00:23Opinion polling showed the primary motivator for voters was rejecting Donald Trump, not necessarily enthusiasm for Democrats.
00:31The question for the next two years is whether Democrats will have the will to stand up against not only
00:38Trump,
00:38but the enormous influence of billionaires and corporations in the United States in order to deliver.
00:44Five new DSA-backed candidates won Tuesday, joining AOC and Rashida Tlaib for a socialist bloc of seven out of
00:53435.
00:54Those campaigns, as well as ones like Abdul El-Sayed's and Troy Jackson's in the Senate,
01:00rejected corporate lobbying money, championed Medicare for All, and an end to U.S. support for Israel.
01:05By my count, the new Congress will see about 40 to 60 reps and 8 to 12 senators that represent
01:12some meaningful break
01:13with the corporate establishment Democratic model.
01:17Nowhere near enough to control the caucus, but large enough that leadership may have trouble simply ignoring them,
01:23particularly if they can occasionally pull another 50 to 70 Democrats toward them on individual issues.
01:30Hakeem Jeffries, the likely next House Speaker, outlined a first-hundred-hours plan to restore health care subsidies,
01:38reverse Medicaid cuts, challenge Trump's tariffs, and force votes against the Iran War.
01:44But he's staunchly of the corporate-friendly, pro-Israel wing of the party,
01:48and only a handful have expressed willingness to challenge his speakership.
01:53Important to note, even with control of both chambers,
01:56over two dozen House pickups, and at least 54 Senate seats,
02:01Democrats won't have a veto-proof majority,
02:03so it's unlikely they can pass expansive legislation.
02:07They can use subpoena powers and investigative powers to put figures like Elon Musk,
02:13Pete Hegseth, Jared Kushner on trial.
02:15They can invoke congressional authority to rein in war spending.
02:20But between now and when they're seated in January,
02:23Democrats can look back to the Biden or Obama years when they won big mandates,
02:28what they did or didn't do with it, and what happened in result,
02:32namely the elections of Donald Trump,
02:34who for better or for worse, many voters backed as a rejection of a corrupted, bipartisan political elite.
02:42Will Democrats answer that call, or will they vacillate, struggle to deliver,
02:47and blame the left for it, paving the way for maybe a Gavin Newsom presidential ticket in 2028?
02:54Time will tell.
02:56Dan Albright, Telesor, Boston.
02:58Back to you.
