Tuesday night was one of the most historic midterm elections in US history. The first Muslim congresswoman was elected to the house, the first openly homosexual governor was elected and Democrats finally regained control of the house, ending an eight-year Republican hold.
So what does all this mean?
In short, the new Democratic control will shift the landscape of Washington and provide for the first time in the Trump Presidency a counterweight.
While it’s not possible for Democrats to enact any of their priorities into law because Republicans still hold control of the Senate and the White House, Democrats can begin to probe and prod Republicans on their policies and the work they’ve done in the last two years. Ultimately providing a real check and balance that we haven’t seen since 2016.
Democrats won the popular vote in the House by 5.9 percent in the 2018 midterm election.
“It actually was a blue wave.” – @morningmika https://t.co/VJkbB9jxGk
— MSNBC (@MSNBC) November 9, 2018
Of those policies, the most recent and controversial have been immigration, education and health care, according to The Washington Post.
A main topic on everyone’s mind is Russia, and Democrats are all but ready to launch a full investigation into President Donald Trump’s alleged ties.
What does that mean for those investigations?
NBC reports, “The expected chairman of Judiciary, Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., told MSNBC’s Ari Melber Tuesday night that “all options are on the table” if Trump tries to “sabotage” the Russia probe or fires “key people” or abuses the pardon power.
“We’ll use subpoena power if we have to, when we have to,” he said.
Yesterday’s resignation of Attorney General, Jeff Sessions at the request of President Donald Trump, has caused a high level of uncertainty for the special counsel investigation and defined party lines even more, but Democrats will push hard to ensure the investigation continues, per the request of Rep. Jerrold Nadler.
Democrats are also expected to reintroduce their Better Deal legislative plan to lower the cost of prescription drugs and ultimately rebuild the crumbling infrastructure of the country’s opioid epidemic. They will also be looking to enhance election security that will include easier access to early voting and work to reduce the role of money in politics to ensure a more even playing field for all candidates.
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi said this would be their first piece of legislation.
Propelled by record breaking voter turnout in this election, Democrats saw a strong revitalization in their party. With that, they have the ability to take their newfound momentum and propel their new ideas and policies forward. Come January, the Democrat’s new control of the House will be less about advancing laws and will have to focus more on where their real power lies, which is in blocking the president’s and the Republican’s priorities.