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Democratic Steps to Protect Social Safety Net and Pro-Democracy Post Midterms

Mel Wilson, LCSW, Senior Policy Advisor, NASW

At this point in time, it is very possible that Congressional leadership will change in the House and perhaps the Senate. Given the magnitude of the stakes for the nation - in particular vulnerable and marginalized communities - this change will be urgent and consequential.

A Democratic takeover of the House and perhaps the Senate after the 2026 midterms will undoubtedly lead to expeditious efforts to rollback objectionable Trump executive orders and inequitable policies .A number of credible polls and analyses from election expertsstrongly suggest that the Republicans will no longer control all three centers of national power after the midterms.

With that in mind, Democratic political leaders and national pro-democracy organizations have cautiously begun to plan to assume Congressional power by developing draft legislative and policy priorities aimed at reversing - or at least mitigating - Trump actions in the areas of mass deportation, massive Medicaid cuts, SNAP cuts, income disparities, health equity, racial equity, and voting rights, among others.

Relatedly, there are indications that Democratic lawmakers are drafting proposals that include but are not limited to:

  • Limiting presidential emergency powers
  • Reinforcement of the Justice Department independence
  • Immigration reform (mass deportation)
  • Reversing certain healthcare and Medicaid funding cuts.
  • Addressing the crisis in affordable housing

The focus of this blog is on plans for restoring funding for and/or moving forward with safety net and social justice programs disrupted by the Trump administration’s executive orders and policies. Much of this discussion deals with what appear to be proactivity on the part of Democratic leadership to take preemptive steps toward finalizing legislative responses aimed at reversing (or mitigating) the harms caused by the Trump administration and the current Congressional leaders.

Not surprisingly, Democratic leadership is placing particular emphasis on Medicaid, SNAP, and affordable and fair housing policies. This is because the draconian funding cuts for the support offered by these programs impact many millions of Americans - most of whom are vulnerable families with children.

Rapid Response

Should the Democrats win both chambers, significant legislation could be introduced almost immediately in January 2027. In such a scenario it is likely that Medicaid restoration would be among the earliest actions. As a reminder, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act of 2025 included $990 billion cuts in Medicaid over a ten-year period.For that reason, there is much support to, as quickly as possible, correct what is perceived to be an inequitable “reverse Robinhood” transfer of funding from the poor to the rich.

As of this writing, Democrats have not developed a detailed, official timetable that specifies exactly when they expect Medicaid and SNAP funding to be fully restored — if Democrats win the House and Senate in the 2026 midterms. However, the party’s leaders have gone public, with their intent to concretize specific budget and legislative priorities to “jump-start” the mitigation process in the next Congress. While the Democrats do not have a defined timeline, they have articulated what is akin to a legislative priority sequence as outlined below:

  • Hakeem Jeffries has stated that reversing Medicaid cuts and restoring Affordable Care Act subsidies would be among the first items pursued if Democrats gain House control.
  • A House Democratic health care working grouprecommended reversing Medicaid cuts and coverage restrictions within the first "100 hours" agenda of a new Congress.
  • In that Senate Democrats had introduced legislation in 2025to reverse the Medicaid reductions enacted in the 2025 reconciliation law, they essentially already have a vetted framework for legislation that can be quickly re-introduced after the midterm elections.
  • Similarly, Congressional Democrats also introduced Restoring Food Security for American Families and Farmers Act of 2025which would repeal the SNAP reductions enacted in the 2025 law. The bill was supported by nearly all congressional Democrats.

Continuing with its efforts to quickly address some of the negative impact of social safety net budget cuts, the leaders are organizing policy planning extending beyond individual bills. For example, in June 2026, House Democratic leadership established five cost-of-living working groups covering health care, housing, groceries and goods, gas and utilities, and caregiving. These groups were charged with developing policy and legislative proposals in coordination with Democratic Caucus and committee leaders, with some also planning to solicit outside input.

Collaboration Between Congressional Democrats and Outside Organizations

There appears to be substantial, organized collaboration—especially around affordability, worker protections, access to benefits, and voting rights. As of October 2026, the collaboration operates through several overlapping channels.

In April 2026, the Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) released its New Affordability Agenda, explicitly proposing policies for Democrats to advance in 2027. Endorsers and committed collaborators in this initiative include SEIU,Communications Workers of America Union (CWA), Economic Policy Institute,Community Change Action, Indivisible , MoveOn, Public Citizen, PolicyLink , and others.

From a legislative perspective, Representatives Rob Menendez and Pramila Jayapal introduced the LIFT the BAR Act in June 2026. The bill is intended to restore benefit eligibility for lawfully present immigrants and remove barriers affecting Medicaid, SNAP, and other programs. The announcement reports more than 140 organizational endorsements and includes support from CLASPand the National Immigration Law Center.

Addressing Attacks on Democracy Protection

A second - but no less important - immediacy for a possible Democratic leadership will be to generate counter-measures that address anti-democracy actions such as underminingvoting rights and dismantling long-standing racial and economic equity protections.

Mass Deportation (Immigration Reform)

Immigration, especially the administration’s mass deportation policy, is a high-priority human rights issue that Democrats are probably going to respond to if they win the House in the 2026 midterms. For example:

1. A Democrat Congressional Majority is Likely to Seek to Curtail or Reverse the Trump Administration’s Mass Deportation Program

For the most part, Democratic leaders, immigrant rights groups , and - to an extent - the general public strongly oppose President Trump's large-scale deportation policies.Opposition to mass deportation has been bolstered by the use of lethal force by ICE and by the collateral consequence of family separation that result from the mass deportation policy. Therefore, there is a near certainty that in the event they assume power, Democrats will expeditiously make an effort to end mass deportation.

It is probable that they would likely:

  • Conduct oversight hearings on deportation practices, detention conditions, and ICE enforcement tactics.
  • Seek limits on funding for large-scale deportation operations through the appropriations process.
  • Expand legal challengesand statutory protections against what many Democrats characterize as indiscriminate or mass deportation programs

The cautionary factor to those steps is that a Democratic House alone could not unilaterally stop mass deportations.This is because immigration enforcement authority is with the executive branch. Congress would have to change the law to get around that barrier.

2. Revisit Comprehensive Immigration Reform

There is a reasonable possibility that Democratic leadership will attempt to rekindle comprehensive immigration reform . This approach has a chance to attract bipartisan support and will probably galvanize solid Democrats’ commitments for such a bill.

In summary, with respect to mass deportation, there is strong evidence that suggests that a Democratic midterm victory would lead to:

  • Opposition to broad mass-deportation campaigns
  • Renewed efforts at comprehensive immigration reform
  • Expanded pathways to legal status and citizenship
  • Increased oversight and actions to reform ICE

Department of Justice Civil Rights Division

There are deep concerns that the Department of Justice’s (DOJ Civil Rights Division has not only failed to live up to the Division’s original mandate but has operated as a mirror opposite of the stated mission. Out of worry about the direction that the Civil Rights Division has taken under the Trump administration, in April 2025, seven Democratic members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, led by Peter Welch and Dick Durbin, formally demanded information from DOJ regarding changes to the Civil Rights Division and called for oversight hearings. “They argued that new directives appeared to alter the Division's longstanding missions involving voting rights, education discrimination, housing discrimination, disability rights, and federal civil-rights enforcement.” While these inquiries do not specifically restore the Civil Rights Division, they demonstrate a broader Democratic strategy of building a record for future congressional intervention.

The civil rights community has also weighed-in on this concern.In a June 17, 2025, letter (Read the coalition letter), the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights and 85 other national organizations described a “shocking perversion of the founding mission” of the Division. They argued that leadership was abandoning pending civil-rights cases and redirecting enforcement against communities those laws were intended to protect.

Though there is yet to be a publicly released Democratic leadership plan that formally says it will introduce legislation after the 2026 midterms, there are indications they have sufficient materials and background information to converted to reform legislation should Democrats regain control of one or both chambers of Congress.

Voting Rights

Similar to the DOJ Civil Rights Division, its Voting section has — under the Trump administration —become nearly the polar opposite from its original mission. By many accounts, the Voting Rights Division has placed more emphasis targeting so-called voting fraud than ensuring voting equity. Coupled with the Supreme Court’s  2013 Shelby County v Holder and the more recent Louisiana v. Callais, the DOJ Voting Rights Division appears to have negated its historical mandate. With that in mind, a Democratic Congressional majority— post midterms— is expected to reintroduce the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act and the  For the People Act of 2021 to restore voting protections and voting rights as originally intended.

Restoring Values of Multiculturalism and Diversity

By now, most voters have a general idea about Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI) and the related controversies surrounding DEI programs. However, it is less likely that they realize that DEI policies draw from the early twentieth-century American tradition of cultural pluralism (multiculturalism) that dates back over 100 years. These values were further institutionalized by an executive order ( President Kennedy in 1961) introducing the notion of “affirmatively” responding to past discrimination through government actions.

As would be expected, when Trump issuedExecutive Order 14151 — ending federal DEI programs— the reaction in the civil rights community and among many members of Congresswas swift and angry. That response was because the executive order was a comprehensive rebuke of DEI policies and programs that — if fully implemented— will seriously impact the lives millions of people of color, women, and people with disabilities. For those (such as the civil rights community) who are aware of the important historical context of DEI, the executive order is completely unacceptable.

Most of the Congressional Democrat leadership agree with outside civil rights groups that the near abolishment of DEI in the federal government — as well as in the private sector— must be resisted. With the hope that they could possibly regain power, at least in the House, several Democratic members of Congress have developed DEI legislative alternatives. For example:

  • Demanding Accountability and Oversight of Trump’s DEI executive order: In February 2026, Democratic Representatives Ayanna Pressley and Jonathan Jackson led their colleagues in demanding records on eliminated DEI positions, discontinued DEI programs, agency guidelines for implementing the executive orders, and requestingthe administration for records of its communications with private employers on DEI issues.
  • The primary objectives of Pressly and Jackson’s efforts were to determine whether the DEI executive orders comply with existing civil-rights and equal-employment laws. This accountability practice will likely be an oversight mandate if the Democrats gain power after the midterms.
  • Stronger statutory civil-rights protections: House Democrats reintroduced the Equity and Inclusion Enforcement Act of 2025, which would restore individuals’ ability to challenge discriminatory effects under Title VIof the Civil Rights Act of 1964and require designated Title VI monitors in educational institutions.
  • They also introduced the Strength in Diversity Actsupporting voluntary school integration.

The Pressly and Jackson letter to the administration demonstrates a currentaccountability effort, but as of now it does not establish a formal Democratic post-midterm oversight priority. It would be expected that the letter would provide a foundation for developing expanded oversight.

In conclusion, what appears to be Congressional Democrats’ emerging agenda— should they regain Congressional leadership— will include (but not limited to):

  • Prioritizing efforts to reverse cuts to Medicaid and nutrition assistance, and related economic justice safety net programs
  • Ending mass deportation and reforming ICE enforcement tactics
  • Defending voting rights and civil-rights protections and hold the Trump administration accountable for such

Emerging Democratic legislative proposals and oversight efforts are designed to provide a foundation for pursuing these priorities— if they gain congressional power after the midterms. Undoubtedly, control of one or both chambers will strengthen their ability to investigate executive actions and challenge harmful policies. The main caveats to the agenda are that there are no guarantees that they will complete all or part of their agenda. Major legislative changes would still require passage in both chambers and presidential approval—or sufficient votes to override a veto.