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'Thank You Bernie': Organizers Credit Progressive Leader for 'Long Game' That Paid Off
"He cultivated a whole generation of young leaders through the movement he spawned who are now winning seats everywhere."
Nov 04, 2026
The movement that led to at least 18 progressive victories in congressional races and 42 left-wing winners down-ballot "started with a man with 1% vote and three people at his announcement" of his presidential bid in 2015, said one organizer Tuesday night as Democrats won control of the US Senate and House, a majority of governorships, and made major gains in state legislatures.
"Bernie made the path" for progressive politicians to win crucial elections, said a labor organizer based in San Francisco, referring to Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.). "This wave has been a long time coming."
She was one of several observers who drew the connection from Sanders' unsuccessful but mobilizing presidential runs in 2016 and 2020, and his relentless centering of economic justice in his campaigns and legislative work, to the wave of victories Tuesday night by outspoken economic populists including Sens.-elect Abdul El-Sayed (D-Mich.) and Troy Jackson (D-Maine) and Reps.-elect Melat Kiros (D-Colo.), Donavan McKinney (D-Mich.), and Rebecca Cooke (D-Wis.).
"What a night for the movement Bernie has been building for decades," said Jeremy Slevin, Sanders' senior adviser and communications director, listing dozens of the candidates who were endorsed by the senator and ran on platforms demanding Medicare for All, housing justice, civil rights, and an end to the influence of powerful corporations on US politics.
RoseAnn DeMoro, a labor organizer and former executive director of National Nurses United and the California Nurses Association, recalled how, as her organization campaigned for Sanders in 2016 and 2020, "we educated, agitated, organized, gained the most principled allies, incredible people, like Abdul El-Sayed."
"And last night—we won!" said DeMoro.
She added: "Thank you, Bernie Sanders, for working your heart out to change this country. Your 'long game' should be very gratifying today."
A decade after he first ran for president, the proposals Sanders pushed in 2016 have been embraced by large majorities of Democratic voters, and even Americans across the political spectrum. His signature proposal, Medicare for All, dismissed then by former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton as something that would "never, ever come to pass," is supported by 66% of US adults, according to a KFF poll taken last month, with 52% of respondents still supporting the idea if it would "eliminate private health insurance companies."
The US House held its first-ever hearings on Medicare for All in 2019, and some of the Democratic Party's most popular members—Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), elected in 2018, and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, elected in 2025—are outspoken proponents of the plan.
On Tuesday night, said Josh Orton of Demand Justice, "across the country, in red states and blue, Democratic candidates adopted the fight Bernie led for years: for the people against the powerful. You lead that fight and welcome everyone to join you, you win."
Even candidates who did not campaign alongside Sanders, such as Democratic Sen.-elect James Talarico and Gov.-elect Gina Hinojosa in Texas, put forward platforms that showed clear signs of Sanders' influence on US politics. Hinojosa told The New York Times that "the one fight in this country is about economic power" as she explained why she identifies as a "populist" rather than a progressive, and Talarico spoke out against "the billionaires who own the social media platforms, who own the cable news networks, who own the politicians fighting on our screens."
"The people at the top work so hard to keep us angry and divided because our unity is a threat to their wealth and their power," Talarico said, suggesting a call for the working-class solidarity Sanders has urged at his Fighting Oligarchy rallies.
Will Steakin of Politico said he was "not sure any Democratic surrogate campaigned as hard as Sanders this cycle," counting 58 rallies since the Fighting Oligarchy Tour, attended by 340,000 people, and "20 rallies in October alone."
Posting a montage of the rallies, set to David Bowie's "Starman," the senator himself said that Americans "across the country, in rural and urban areas," had "said NO to oligarchy, and YES to an agenda that fights for the working class."
Last night saw some of the greatest progressive victories in modern American history. All across the country, in rural and urban areas, Americans said NO to oligarchy, and YES to an agenda that fights for the working class.Congratulations to the following candidates:U.S. SENATEAbdul El-Sayed (MI)Peggy Flanagan (MN)Troy Jackson (ME)U.S. HOUSEBob Brooks (PA-7)Rebecca Cooke (WI-3)Sam Forstag (MT-1)Adam Hamawy (NJ-12)Melat Kiros (CO-1)Brad Lander (NY-10)Will Lawrence (MI-7)Donavan McKinney (MI-13)Brian Poindexter (OH-7)Analilia Mejía (NJ-11)Claire Valdez (NY-07)Randy Villegas (CA-22)Aisha Wahab (CA-14)
— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) November 4, 2026
"I am so happy that Bernie Sanders is with us today to be able to see the fruits of his labor. He cultivated a whole generation of young leaders through the movement he spawned who are now winning seats everywhere," historian Asad Dandia said of the 85-year-old senator. "Thank you, Bernie."
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After Blue Tsunami, Progressives Say 'This Is a Mandate to Deliver Big Change'
"From coast to coast, Americans are demanding a country that works for all of us, not just corrupt politicians and billionaires."
Nov 04, 2026
Progressive lawmakers and advocacy organizations said Wednesday in the aftermath of Democrats' historic midterm victory that the party has a mandate to use its majorities in the US House and Senate to advance an ambitious legislative agenda and deliver the kind of transformative change that voters demanded at ballot boxes across the country.
Rep. Greg Casar (D-Texas), chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, called the midterm results "a mandate to deliver big change," emphasizing that the real work has just begun.
"Deliver on the big change people are demanding," Casar wrote in a message to his fellow Democrats. "End the war. Stop ICE’s reign of terror. Root out corruption. Raise wages. Stop price gouging. Get money out of politics. Strengthen unions."
"No complacency," he added.
Top Democrats signaled in the immediate aftermath of the party's midterm rout of President Donald Trump's Republican Party that they would not hesitate to begin investigating alleged corruption—a major issue for voters, according to exit polls—and other wrongdoing by the White House and its allies.
House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), who is in line to become speaker in the new Congress, said Wednesday that his caucus would also work to "make significant and decisive progress on addressing the affordability crisis"—though legislative efforts could by stymied by Trump's veto power.
Progressives—bouyed by victories in key races across the country—implored Democrats to use every bit of power that voters gave them to pursue bold change and lay the groundwork for retaking the White House in 2028, warning against a return to the status quo politics that delivered the country into the grasp of Trump and the GOP in the first place.
"Use every committee, hearing, and budget negotiation. Follow the contracts and conflicts of interest. Put executives and administration officials under oath," Joseph Geevarghese, executive director of the advocacy group Our Revolution, said in a statement Wednesday. "Fight for concrete gains and make Trump answer for what he blocks. We know we won’t win everything at once. People need to see Democrats using every bit of power they have to fight for them."
Geevarghese also called on Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) to step aside as leader of the Senate Democratic caucus, arguing that the fight ahead "requires leadership ready to meet the moment."
"The blue wave was powered by a progressive wave. We are the center of gravity in this party, and we intend to drive the agenda. People deserve a new New Deal: a $25 living wage, stronger unions, affordable housing, taxes on billionaires and a sustained fight for Medicare for All," said Geevarghese. "If Democrats retreat into caution and fail to improve people’s lives, they will rebuild the distrust Trump exploited. The people organized for change. We organized to win. Now we organize to make Democrats deliver."
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani also weighed in on the implications of Tuesday's election results, saying at a press conference that "what last night told us is that Americans are tired of being told that their needs are unrealistic, by politicians who have been bought by the wealthiest people in the country."
"This country has elected a new generation of leadership, a generation with a mandate to lower the cost of living, to build not bomb, to never betray the working people who entrusted them with power," said Mamdani. "And I hear often that the politics that we're fighting for here in New York City are not possible outside of city limits. And what last night showed us is that working people are the majority, whether we are speaking of Austin or Ann Arbor or Astoria. It is time to put those same people first in our politics."
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'Impeach Trump Again': After Midterm Blowout of GOP, Campaign Pushes New Congress to Ready Proceedings
"Those in control of the House have the power and responsibility to hold this lawless president accountable through impeachment.”
Nov 04, 2026
A campaign launched on Wednesday is urging Democrats to use their new majorities in the US House of Representatives and Senate next year to impeach and remove President Donald Trump.
In announcing its "Time to Impeach" campaign, nonprofit legal advocacy organization Free Speech For People said impeachment proceedings against the president should begin on the very first day of the next Congress.
The group noted that 147 House Democrats in September voted to advance impeachment articles against Trump filed by Rep. Al Green (D-Texas), who accused the president of abusing his powers by letting federal immigration enforcement officials run roughshod over people's constitutional rights.
Free Speech For People also said it has already gathered more than 1.1 million signatures for its online petition to impeach the president.
"Members of Congress swear an oath to support and defend the Constitution," said Alexandra Flores-Quilty, campaign director at Free Speech For People. "When the new Congress convenes in January, those in control of the House have the power and responsibility to hold this lawless president accountable through impeachment."
John Bonifaz, president of Free Speech For People, said impeachment was the only acceptable remedy "to address a corrupt and dangerous executive who tramples on the Constitution and the rule of law."
"If Congress fails to act, it will set a dangerous precedent that Trump—and any president hereafter—can operate above the law," Bonifaz stressed. "The Constitution demands that we impeach and remove Trump from public office."
Despite the group's advocacy for aggressive action, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) signaled that he is not in any rush to begin impeachment proceedings.
"I haven't had a single member of the House Democratic caucus talk to me about impeachment," Jeffries told reporters on Wednesday. "We've been relentlessly focused on affordability and accountability. Because the House is a separate and coequal branch of government... and the days of the House of Representatives functioning like a wholly owned subsidiary of the Trump administration are over."
Jeffries: "I haven't had a single member of the House Democratic caucus talk to me about impeachment. We've been relentlessly focused on affordability and accountability."
[image or embed]
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) November 4, 2026 at 12:32 PM
Jeffries emphasized this means that Congress under his leadership will "serve as a check and balance on an out-of-control executive branch."
In an interview with the Baltimore Banner published Wednesday, Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), who is in line to take over as chair of the House Judiciary Committee next year, would not take a third impeachment of the president off the table.
"We’re not afraid to impeach Donald Trump," said the Maryland Democrat. "We’ve done it twice. He has 50% of all the presidential impeachments in American history."
Raskin also addressed critics who said that impeaching Trump a third time should be off the table given there is little chance of him being convicted in the US Senate.
"[Impeachment] cannot be a fetish, but it also can’t be a taboo either,” Raskin said. “It is one of the people’s major instruments of constitutional self-defense against a president who continues to act like a king or an emperor."
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With 74% of Voters Saying Iran War Was Big Factor in Midterms, Dems Urged to Become Peace Party
"Will Democrats finally get it?" asked one progressive expert. "Americans are tired of war. They want a new foreign policy."
Nov 04, 2026
Nearly three-quarters of Americans who voted in Tuesday's midterm elections said that President Donald Trump's illegal war of choice on Iran was a significant factor in their vote, a figure that opponents of US militarism said underscored the need for the Democrats to become a true anti-war party.
According to NBC News exit polling, 74% of voters called the ongoing US-Israeli war on Iran a "crucial" or "major" factor in their vote, with Democrats winning 63% of people who responded that way. Meanwhile, 63% of voters said the Trump administration made the wrong decision in taking military action against Iran, compared with 37% who said it was the right decision.
"There will be a lot of infighting and arguing over what happened and why that is," Vice President JD Vance said Tuesday in a lengthy social media post. "One of the pollsters I really respect told me that our economic messaging wasn’t sharp enough down the stretch. I’m sure that’s true."
"But the real reason we lost is obvious to almost everyone," the vice president continued. "The reason we lost is the war. The president himself said so last night."
Indeed, Trump acknowledged that the war harmed Republicans, telling Fox News, "I think a part of it was Iran," but nevertheless defended the 35-week military campaign, insisting that "people understood the importance of what I've done with Iran."
In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Trump was similarly unapologetic, declaring: "I did the right thing. I would have done it again."
Numerous observers contended that Tuesday's results offered an opportunity for Democrats to do more than simply capitalize on Republican mistakes.
"Among other things, this is an absolute rebuke of the war in Iran. Democrats would be wise to heed that lesson and truly become the anti-war party," said commentator Ben Rhodes—who, while serving as a senior national security adviser to then-President Barack Obama, supported US intervention in countries including Iraq, Libya, and Syria, as well as Obama's wider drone war campaign.
Geopolitics scholar Van Jackson opined on social media that "if Democrats remain the party of the national security state, they will lose everything in 2028. If they become the anti-war party, they’ll consolidate this wave with the presidency."
A Wednesday analysis on the libertarian site Reason by Matthew Petti argued that Democrats now have an opportunity to exercise Congress' constitutional power over the war, including by withholding military funding.
Petti noted that Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) told Fox News last week, "The House and the Senate should stop the funding for any further actions in the Iran War," just like "we did to stop the Vietnam War."
However, Petti cautioned that Democratic electoral victories usually don't lead to anti-war foreign policy.
"Party leadership that is willing to attack Republicans' execution of the war may not share a principled anti-war commitment," he wrote, recalling how Democrats who swept the 2006 midterms over public anger with the Iraq War but then struggled to use their control of both chambers of Congress to end it.
Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) wants his party to cut off funding for Trump's war and said Democrats can do so by demanding explicit restrictions on war spending as a condition of supporting the fiscal year 2027 government funding bill that expires next month.
"Right now, the continuing resolution goes through December 11," Van Hollen told The Lever on Tuesday. "And my view is that Democrats should not advance spending to continue to fund this war."
"The Vietnam War ended only when Congress defunded it," he added. "This is an illegal war, and we need to make sure that taxpayer monies are not used to continue an illegal war."
Institute for Middle East Understanding executive director Margaret DeReus pleaded on social media, "For the love of all that is good, Democrats, do not squander this."
"The voters have given you a mandate. Use it. Be the party of working people. Be the anti-war party. Be the anti-corruption party," she added. "We cannot go back to business as usual."
Matt Duss, a former top aide to US Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) who serves as executive vice president at the Center for International Policy, noted that "Trump ran and won as an anti-war candidate in 2024 because Democrats left that lane wide open for him."
"Voters have just brutally punished him and the GOP for breaking that promise. Will Democrats finally get it?" Duss added. "Americans are tired of war. They want a new foreign policy."
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'Invest in the South,' Angie Nixon Urges Democrats After Almost Ousting Florida Republican
"I'm proud of the race we ran," said the democratic socialist who challenged a Republican US senator, but "imagine what would have happened if we had more investment early on."
Nov 04, 2026
Although Angie Nixon wasn't among the Democrats who helped her party reclaim the US Senate on Tuesday, the democratic socialist's near-win in Florida—without establishment support—sent a clear message about what might be possible in the Sunshine State going forward.
After a "stunning" primary victory over establishment-backed Lt. Col. Alex Vindman in August, Nixon—a 42-year-old Black businesswoman and state representative from Jacksonville who belongs to both Democratic Socialists of America and the Working Families Party (WFP)—secured 48% of the vote in the general election, compared with Republican Sen. Ashley Moody's 50.9%, with over 95% of ballots tallied as of Wednesday afternoon.
Nixon refused to back off her progressive platform after her primary win, continuing to campaign on Medicare for All, free childcare, paid family and sick leave, a national rent freeze and eviction moratorium, a universal jobs program, ending wars, getting big money out of politics, and taxing billionaires in a state written off by the Democratic Party throughout the 21st Century.
"I'm proud of the race we ran. We helped drive turnout and broke the supermajority in the state House and Senate. 2028 is around the corner. LFG!" Nixon said on social media late Tuesday. "We invested in grassroots organizers and partnered with candidates down ballot. I'm so proud of the work we did helping to flip 17 House seats. Many of whom were candidates we partnered with in the primary. Imagine what would have happened if we had more investment early on."
As people across the country took note of her close race—and some called out the national Democratic Party and its leadership for not pouring into the contest—Nixon added early Wednesday, "Invest in the South."
Jonathan Cohn, political director of the group Progressive Mass, said on social media that "Angie Nixon sadly didn't win, but for a race the national party did not invest in, she did damn well."
Amanda Litman, president of Run for Something, which recruits and supports young Democrats to seek elected office, said that she's "not sure there's a federal candidate in the country who worked as hard—with as little national help—as Angie Nixon. What a star."
Stressing that Florida, now Trump's home state, "is the absolute epicenter of MAGA," political commentator Kyle Kulinski highlighted that "a democratic socialist nearly pulled off one of the biggest upsets in political history. What a tremendous campaign from Angie Nixon."
WFP national director Maurice Mitchell said in a statement that "we are incredibly proud of Angie's campaign and our part in it. But there is no hiding our anger, because this race was winnable."
"In the face of outsized spending and racist attacks, Angie's people-centered campaign came within inches of defeating an incumbent senator," he emphasized. "The Democratic establishment failed to invest in Angie, because she wasn't their preferred candidate."
"The Working Families Party is proud to have been the first national organization to endorse Angie," he continued, "and we're committed to recruiting and running powerful leaders like her all across the South."
Some critics directly called out Senate Minority Chuck Schumer (D-NY), who's expected to lead the chamber again when Democrats officially reclaim their majority in January.
"Never forget that Angie Nixon lost by three points after being snubbed by Schumer and the Dem establishment for running on a progressive, DSA-backed platform this cycle," said Jack Petocz, senior director of programs and communications at Gen-Z for Change.
Although Schumer didn't bother with the race, Nixon was endorsed by national leftist leaders, including Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), and Congressional Progressive Caucus Chair Emerita Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.).
As the results rolled in late Tuesday, Jeremy Slevin, Sanders' communications director and senior adviser, pointed out that "Bernie held four rallies for Angie Nixon, had four staffers on the ground, contributed $330,000 to support her directly, and raised another $266,000. She's currently within about 2 points. Imagine if the establishment hadn't written this race off."
Jayapal said late Tuesday that "even though Angie Nixon did not pull it out, she ran an incredibly competitive race, and drove up votes down ballot for other candidates. She was underestimated and overspent at every step, but she never stopped being who she was and running on bold, progressive values. Thank you, Angie!!"
At The American Prospect, Naomi Bethune and James Baratta noted that "Moody will have to run again for a full term in 2028. Given how close the matchup between Moody and Nixon ended up, the energetic progressive insurgent is expected to try again."
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Big Tech and AI Data Centers Take Walloping From Angry and Organized Voters Nationwide
“In state after state and race after race, Big Tech has failed to deliver—and everyday Americans have won,” said Mitch Jones, deputy director of Food and Water Action.
Nov 04, 2026
The results of both ballot initiatives and legislative elections Tuesday night underscored what numerous polls have shown for months: Despite President Donald Trump's insistence to the contrary, Americans don't want data centers in their communities and are demanding that Big Tech, including artificial intelligence companies, be reined in.
Dozens of cities and towns across the country—including in Ohio, which has been pushed as a hub for the expansion of energy-sucking, water-guzzling data centers—resoundingly voting for moratoriums on their construction, blocking proposed projects like a $2 billion data center Amazon had planned for Sunbury, Ohio.
In all, communities across the US passed 43 out of 44 initiatives that proposed banning or pausing construction on data centers or infrastructure of a certain size.
Sunbury, a small city of less than 9,000 residents, mobilized to pass a ban on data centers larger than 25 megawatts, with more than 78% of voters supporting the moratorium.
The ban "gives us more of a say in the outcome of what happens in our community,” Trey Dockendorf, who helped organize the campaign, told WCMH. Amazon had planned to begin construction in 2028 and property tax breaks for the massive facility could have spanned more than 30 years.
"People do not want data centers where they can ruin neighborhoods, ruin communities, or put people at risk," Larry Thode, who lives near the proposed site for the Amazon project, told 10TV.
Wide margins were reported in elections across the country and in towns across Ohio, where 21 initiatives appeared on ballots.
More than 82% of voters in Granville approved a ban on all data center construction in the village, along with 76% of voters in Hubbard and 77% of people in Urbana.
Farm Action president Angela Huffman recounted how her community of Upper Sandusky also rallied around a proposed moratorium, which was backed by more than 76% of residents.
After Smartland Energy proposed a $900 million center in the town last year, residents "filled public meetings, challenged the proposed approval process, and pressed city officials for answers," wrote Huffman, eventually pushing Smartland to withdraw its zoning request.
She continued:
Local residents worked with attorneys at Conserve Ohio, who drafted the charter amendment that ultimately became Ordinance 85-14.
The amendment would prohibit construction of data centers with an electrical demand or peak load exceeding 25 megawatts.
To place it on the November ballot, we needed to collect signatures from registered city voters.
We were initially told that 155 valid signatures would be sufficient. We collected well beyond that number, knowing some signatures would be rejected during verification.
On August 3, we submitted petitions containing 301 signatures. Of those, 192 were accepted.
We then learned that the city’s charter required 212 valid signatures. That left us 20 valid signatures short.
With just hours remaining before the filing deadline, we headed back out to collect signatures, determined not to let months of work fall short.
On August 5, we submitted another 50 signatures. Election officials accepted 37. Our final total was 229 valid signatures, just 17 more than required.
We had qualified for the November ballot.
Ohioans also elected Democrat Amy Acton to be governor, after a campaign in which Acton supported a statewide moratorium on data centers, and unseated Republican Sen. Jon Husted, whom Democratic Sen.-elect Sherrod Brown derided as "the face of data centers," pointing to his support for tech giants' investment in Ohio when he served as lieutenant governor.
Maine was home to the second-highest number of data center-related ballot initiatives, and voters overwhelmingly supported measures banning construction for 180 days or, in the case of North Berwick, indefinitely for data centers larger than 25,000 square feet.
“Let’s not destroy our nice Maine environment to help produce this thing, and have water droughts and everybody surrounded by really loud noise," Kayley Buzzell of Sabattus told The Maine Monitor. The town voted 66-33% in favor of a moratorium on data centers of 10,000 sq ft or 20 megawatts or more, until May 2027.
Other victorious Democratic gubernatorial candidates who pledged to fight the unregulated growth of data centers, which Trump has aggressively pushed as AI giants poured tens of millions of dollars into the midterm elections, include Govs.-elect Keisha Lance Bottoms in Georgia and Gina Hinojosa in Texas. Hinojosa consistently called for an immediate moratorium on data center development, and Lance Bottoms advocated for a temporary statewide pause and accountability to stop companies from driving up residents' electricity costs.
And in South Carolina, Sen.-elect Annie Andrews (D) labeled her opponent, Republican Sen. Darline Graham, "Data Center Darline" as a super political action committee aligned with the industry spent $1.5 million on advertising for Graham.
The victories of citizen-led ballot initiatives and vocally anti-AI candidates against well-funded allies of Big Tech served as a "clear rebuke of the unchecked AI data center build-out," said Food and Water Action.
“Voters across the country have emphatically rejected the push for AI data centers. In state after state and race after race, Big Tech has failed to deliver—and everyday Americans have won,” said Mitch Jones, deputy director of the group. “Not only in Washington, but in state capitols and village halls across the country, newly elected leaders are poised to stand up to the unregulated, reckless build-out of hyperscale data centers wherever they are proposed."
“Congressional Democrats now have a mandate to stand up to Big Tech," said Jones. "They must start by rejecting the pro-polluter 'permitting reform' bill before them in the lame duck Congress. And a desperately needed moratorium on new data center construction must be enacted, so lawmakers and community leaders have the time to determine if—not how—this out-of-control industry can ever be safely regulated.”
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Incoming House Oversight Chair Has Two Words for 'Trump Crime Family' and Their Allies: 'Lawyer Up'
"They are going to need to plant new forests for all of the subpoenas we’ll be printing," said Sen. Ed Markey.
Nov 04, 2026
After Democrats took back both chambers of the US Congress Tuesday, Rep. Robert Garcia, the incoming Democratic chair of the House Oversight Committee, had two words for President Donald Trump and his family: “Lawyer up.”
With solid majorities in the House and Senate, Democrats will have much greater power to conduct hearings, demand documents, and summon witnesses to testify under oath beginning in January.
“They are going to need to plant new forests for all of the subpoenas we’ll be printing,” said Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.).
Democrats are expected to aggressively probe the depths of what Garcia (D-Calif.) called “an unprecedented amount of corruption” by the “Trump crime family.”
Trump has added billions of dollars to his personal wealth during his second term. Garcia said Democrats plan to examine Trump’s cryptocurrency empire and whether foreign governments and businesses have used it to purchase political favors.
He said Democrats intend to investigate Donald Trump Jr.’s personal investments and his involvement with companies that have received government contracts. The business dealings of Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, who has been accused of using foreign diplomacy to line his own pockets, will also be investigated.
Responding to voter concerns about the cost of living, which fueled Democratic wins across the map on Tuesday, Garcia said “any CEO that has been ripping off the American public” should prepare to face scrutiny, particularly those whose companies have engaged in price gouging, abused government contracts, or financially benefited from their relationships with Trump.
Punchbowl News noted several powerful executives and officials who could be under the gun:
Expect the tech executives closest to [Trump], including SpaceX’s Elon Musk, Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg, and Nvidia’s Jensen Huang, to be early targets for House Oversight, [the House Energy and Commerce Committee], and [the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee]. Democrats will also want to grill OpenAI’s Sam Altman and Anthropic’s Dario Amodei about their [artificial intelligence] products.
“Anyone who has been in bed with the Trumps” is going to have “no choice but to respond to our questions,” Garcia said of businesses alleged to have gotten favorable treatment due to their relationship with the president’s family.
The US Department of Justice (DOJ) will also face scrutiny over its handling of the investigation into the late sex criminal Jeffrey Epstein. A report last month by Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee said the DOJ “appears to be covering up” evidence of Trump’s relationship with the billionaire predator and laid out accounts involving 11 women who connect Trump to Epstein’s alleged sex trafficking operation—five of them have accused the president of sexual assault in Epstein’s presence.
Garcia said Tuesday that in contrast to the closed-door hearings conducted under Republican control, he plans to hold “real public hearings” that “center the survivors” of Epstein’s abuse.
Abuses by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will also be examined.
At least 62 people have died in ICE custody since Trump returned to office, while federal immigration agents have opened fire on people in at least 32 incidents, killing nine and injuring 15, including US citizens and immigrants who appeared to pose no threat. Agents have also been documented committing widespread civil rights violations, using excessive force, and engaging in racial profiling.
“Oversight Democrats have documented hundreds of incidents of abuse and misconduct by DHS immigration enforcement agents, and every single one of them deserves a full investigation,” Garcia said in April in a statement with Rep. Summer Lee (D-Pa.).
Then-US Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on March 3, 2026, in Washington, DC. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Garcia has stressed that "it can't just be the agents" who face accountability, but anyone “involved in the abuses of ICE."
“The agents are taking direction in some cases from others, and policy is being written to encourage that level of activity and that level of elimination of due process,” he said, adding that he wants “accountability at all levels, and that starts at the top.”
Garcia signaled that top DHS officials, including former Secretary Kristi Noem and her top aide Corey Lewandowski, could face scrutiny over a $220 million taxpayer-funded advertising campaign featuring Noem and allegations that she and Lewandowski used their positions for personal gain. The DOJ was reported in October to have opened a criminal investigation into Lewandowski over whether he personally profited from his government role.
Garcia will likely oversee only a fraction of the inquiries into Trump and his allies’ conduct launched by a Democratic Congress.
Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.), the incoming chair of the House Armed Services Committee, is expected to dig into Trump’s decision to launch an unauthorized aggressive war against Iran, as well as its financial cost, attacks on civilians, and the administration’s shifting justifications for the now eight-month-old conflict.
He also said he would examine the legality of Trump's unauthorized strikes on boats in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific, which have killed at least 243 people and have been described as illegal extrajudicial assassinations by human rights groups. He also called for more transparency surrounding the Trump administration's regime change operation and commandeering of oil in Venezuela, and its crippling blockade and threats to invade Cuba.
President Donald Trump shakes hands with Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth during a ceremony marking the 25th anniversary of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, on September 11, 2026. (Photo by Finn Gomez/Getty Images)
Smith, who has served in Congress for nearly three decades, described Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth as less transparent than anyone who previously held the position.
"Since I became ranking member, I have had the cellphone number of every single secretary of defense," he told The Washington Post earlier this week. "Hegseth does not speak to me."
He has said, "There are Republicans who would support impeaching Hegseth who might not support doing it to Trump."
But that doesn't mean Trump is safe. Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), the incoming chair of the House Judiciary Committee, said Tuesday that he would not rule out pursuing a third impeachment of Trump, though he cautioned that Democrats would have to weigh it against their other priorities.
Raskin, who managed Trump’s historic second impeachment, called it "one of the people's major instruments of constitutional self-defense against a president who continues to act like a king or an emperor."
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From Maine to Michigan to Texas, 'Rise of Real Economic Populism' Trounces Right-Wing Billionaire Cash
"We showed that in a battle between the money and the many, the many really can win."
Nov 04, 2026
It wasn't just a Democratic tsunami that swept the United States in Tuesday's midterm elections—it was also an "economic populist wave" that drowned out billionaire cash.
In states across the country, voters propelled to victory candidates who explicitly cast their campaigns as part of a movement to topple a corporate-dominated economic and political order that has allowed those at the top to accumulate unimaginable wealth—and pump massive sums of cash into elections—while the working class falls further behind, their paychecks swallowed by rising gas, grocery, housing, and healthcare prices.
"If you're watching this after getting home from a shift or sitting at the table wondering how you're going to pay your next bill, I want you to hear something very clearly: You are sending somebody to Washington who knows exactly what that feels like," Troy Jackson, a fifth-generation logger from northern Maine, said after defeating 30-year Republican incumbent Sen. Susan Collins and the billionaires financing her campaign.
Jackson's focus on the nation's affordability crisis and his support for bold solutions such as Medicare for All resembled Abdul El-Sayed's approach in the critical battleground state of Michigan, where he defeated former Rep. Mike Rogers with an unwavering focus on the costs of necessities—even as his opponents sought to smear him with bigoted attacks on his name and faith.
"Rather than try to unite us to contend with the crisis of gas or groceries, the opposition decided to try to divide us," said El-Sayed in his victory speech, mocking AIPAC and other billionaire-backed groups that spend millions against him. "We showed that in a battle between the money and the many, the many really can win."
Nationwide, the top 20 donors in the 2026 midterms—a list dominated by Elon Musk and other tech billionaires—spent around $2 billion trying to influence the midterm contests.
In Texas, where Musk spent most heavily, Democratic Sen.-elect James Talarico and Gov.-elect Gina Hinojosa explicitly framed their campaigns in populist terms, with Talarico describing the fundamental struggle in the US as "not left versus right," but "top versus bottom."
Those messages helped Democrats end the GOP's three-decade stranglehold on Texas politics.
"We must get big money out of our politics so no billionaire or trillionaire can buy our elections," said Talarico. "We must unrig this economic system that only benefits the top 1%."
Hinojosa, who described her politics as "economic populism" in an interview shortly before Tuesday's elections, said after defeating Elon Musk-backed incumbent Gov. Greg Abbott that the contest was about whether Texas belongs "to the working families who pay their taxes and do every everything right" or "the wealthy and well-connected who play by different rules."
"Does Texas belong to the people who rise before the sun, who work two jobs, who build our homes, who keep our hospitals running, who put everything they've got into small businesses and big dreams?" Hinojosa asked. "Or does it belong to the people who write the biggest check to politicians in Austin. Tonight, Texas, we answered—and we did not whisper."
GINA HINOJOSA and the rise of real economic populism!!!!"the one fight in this country is about economic power..." "if i were to describe a label to describe myself it would be economic populism" The new Texas Governor is calling on the farmers alliance history to describe the need to take on tech giants who are crushing peopls.
— Zephyr Teachout (@ZephyrTeachout) November 4, 2026
Lower-profile congressional races also saw underdog progressives succeed in the face of massive opposition spending. Will Lawrence, a cofounder of the Sunrise Movement, was on track to defeat incumbent Republican Rep. Tom Barrett in Michigan's 7th Congressional District—the most expensive US House race in the country.
Lawrence, who faced around $27 million in opposition spending as he campaigned on Medicare for All and a federal moratorium on new data center construction, said as results poured in Tuesday night that "we're on the verge of beating an incumbent Republican propped up by corporate money and Trump-aligned super PACs."
Even in races that progressives didn't win, the potency of their messaging and vision was clear.
Angie Nixon, a democratic socialist who campaigned on Medicare for All, universal childcare, and a billionaire wealth tax, came close to defeating billionaire-backed Republican Sen. Ashley Moody in Florida, despite receiving no support from the national Democratic Party.
"We may not have won this election, but that outcome will not stop us from getting up," Nixon said Tuesday night. "From getting up tomorrow to continue the fight to deliver what everyday hardworking Floridians need and deserve. They need a government that works for them and not the greedy corporations. I'm going to wake up tomorrow and keep fighting."
Sulma Arias, president of the advocacy group People’s Action Power, said in a statement Wednesday that "we still need to count every vote, but it’s clear that community organizing that took on greedy corporations resulted in working class people getting the goods."
"Voters are sick of being bullied by MAGA and the billionaires–and they’re tired of weak resistance by corporate-backed politicians. We backed candidates who would stand up for working class people, and voters responded by turning out for them in record numbers.”
Shaunna Thomas, cofounder of the Guardrails Alliance, which supports robust artificial intelligence regulations, wrote on social media that "econ populism won last night, full stop."
"The unholy alliance between Big Tech and Republicans created the conditions. Voters showed what happens when you pick the wrong side," Thomas wrote. "Dems have a mandate—be the party that finally made corps play by the rules and change the system."
Top Democrats have signaled that they plan to focus on affordability with the party's new majority, but their ability to enact legislation will be limited by President Donald Trump's veto power. Progressives are calling on Democrats to accomplish as much as possible while also pursuing an ambitious agenda to set the stage for 2028, when the party can take back the presidency.
"This newly empowered Democratic majority must put their rhetoric into action," said Lindsay Owens, president and CEO of Groundwork Action. "If the majority simply works to undo Trump's damage and goes back to business as usual, it will face the same electoral backlash that swept the Republican majority from power. Corporations have been picking our pockets for years. And only Congress has the power to put a stop to it."
"Democrats must bring the CEOs of Big Oil, Big Pharma, insurance giants, and AI companies before Congress and make them answer for the prices Americans are paying and the profits executives are pocketing," Owens added. "Voters have handed Democrats a mandate to take on corporate greed, bring down costs, and make billionaires and big corporations pay their fair share. Now Democrats must use it."
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Montana Voters Overwhelmingly Pass Ballot Initiative to Ban Corporate Cash From Political Campaigns
"The more states that follow this innovative approach, the more we can make Citizens United irrelevant."
Nov 04, 2026
Voters in Montana on Tuesday delivered a major blow to big moneyed interests by overwhelmingly passing a ballot initiative barring corporate cash from political campaigns in the state.
With 87% of votes counted as of Wednesday morning, Montana Constitutional Initiative 194 has received support from more than 65% of voters, with just 35% registering opposition.
The initiative prohibits what it describes as "artificial persons"—which includes corporations, nonprofits, trusts, partnerships, and trade associations—from giving money to political campaigns.
Supporters of the initiative have billed it as a way to strike a blow against the Supreme Court's 2010 ruling in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, which opened the door to unlimited campaign spending in US politics.
“A yes vote on I-194 means that only real people—not corporations, unions, trade associations, nonprofits, or groups with anonymous donors—are allowed to spend money in Montana elections,” the Yes on Initiative 194 campaign explained on its website. "It’s time to kick the oligarchs out of Big Sky country."
The initiative's overwhelming victory drew praise from Tom Moore, senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, who congratulated the people of Montana for taking "a historic step toward ending the scourge of corporate and dark money in politics."
Moore noted that the initiative passed by Montana is similar to a law passed in Hawaii earlier this year that classified corporations as "artificial persons" who do not have a constitutional right to make political donations.
Both states, Moore said, are "setting a bold example for other states to follow suit, sending a powerful message that we don’t have to give corporations unlimited power."
"The more states that follow this innovative approach," he added, "the more we can make Citizens United irrelevant."
Stacy Mitchell, co-executive director at the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, hailed the initiative's passage as a win for democratic governance.
"We've largely forgotten that states define what corporations can do," Mitchell wrote in a social media post. "Yesterday, Montana voters overwhelmingly stripped corporations of the power to spend money influencing elections. Hawaii did the same in May. Both face court fights. Our nascent citizen muscle is coming to life."
Adam Bojak, a Democrat who on Tuesday won an election in New York State Assembly District 149, said he'd like to see the Empire State follow the trail blazed by Montana and Hawaii.
"Congratulations to the people of Montana!" Bojak wrote. "I can't wait to bring this legislation to New York in next year's session."
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'Texas Belongs to Us': Voters Defeat Elon Musk's Millions to Deliver 'Blue Tsunami of Epic Proportions'
"Tonight, we sent a crystal-clear message to the people at the top: We will not be conquered," said senator-elect James Talarico.
Nov 04, 2026
Elon Musk, the world's richest man, spent nearly half a billion dollars on the 2026 midterm elections, with much of the money going to Republicans in Texas—where Democrats had not won a statewide election in more than three decades.
That changed on Tuesday when Democratic US Senate candidate James Talarico defeated the state's corrupt Republican attorney general, Ken Paxton, despite Musk's last-minute "rescue mission"—which took the form of a $160 million donation, a minuscule fraction of the Tesla CEO's net worth but a massive infusion of cash into a critical race. Republicans also lost the state's gubernatorial contest, with Democratic candidate Gina Hinojosa prevailing over incumbent GOP Gov. Greg Abbott, who received millions of dollars from Musk.
Musk, who lives in Texas and has moved his businesses there, tried to brush off Democrats' stunning wins, writing on the social media platform he owns: "Guess my election-interfering space lasers didn’t work this time."
Neither Talarico nor Hinojosa—who were just part of the "blue tsunami of epic proportions" that swept through Texas on Tuesday—mentioned Musk by name in their victory speeches, though the senator-elect accused Musk on the campaign trail of "trying to buy the race." But both decried the campaign finance system that has let Musk and other billionaires convert their obscene wealth into political power.
"The billionaires who own the social media algorithms, who own the cable news networks, who own the politicians fighting on our screens—they want us at each other's throats," said Talarico. "They want us looking left and right at each other, instead of looking up at them."
"Our unity is a threat to their wealth and power," he added. "Tonight, we sent a crystal-clear message to the people at the top: We will not be conquered."
In her victory remarks, Hinojosa said the contest against Abbott posed a fundamental question to Texas voters: Does the state belong to working families, or "the people who write the biggest check"?
"Tonight, Texas, we answered," said the Democratic governor-elect. "And we did not whisper. We answered loud enough for every billionaire, every lobbyist, and every corrupt politician in Austin to hear. Texas belongs to us."
Across the country, according to a CNBC analysis of federal filings, "Musk’s America PAC spent nearly $87 million across 44 federal races."
"By Wednesday morning, Republicans it backed had lost 29 contests and won just three, with 12 still uncalled. More than $80 million—or 93% of its spending—went toward races Republicans lost," the outlet reported. "The outcome leaves Musk with fewer allies in a Democratic-controlled Congress that could investigate his federal contracts, his past leadership of Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency, and his companies’ ties to Washington."
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'Michigan Chose Hope': Medicare for All Champion Abdul El-Sayed Wins Election to US Senate
"I just want to thank you, everybody who knocked a door, made a call, sent a dollar, posted a story, and, most importantly, gave us your stake in democracy."
Nov 04, 2026
Abdul El-Sayed added to the Democratic Party's historic midterm rout of President Donald Trump's GOP on Wednesday by prevailing over former Rep. Mike Rogers in Michigan's US Senate race, overcoming torrents of bigoted abuse from Republicans, a last-minute betrayal by his former primary opponent, and tens of millions of dollars in outside spending–including from an AIPAC-linked super PAC.
"Michigan, we did it," El-Sayed declared in his victory speech, to thunderous applause from supporters gathered in Detroit. "This movement for money out of politics, money in your pocket, and Medicare for All—I just want to thank you, everybody who knocked a door, made a call, sent a dollar, posted a story, and, most importantly, gave us your stake in democracy."
El-Sayed, who will become the nation's first Muslim senator, cast his win as a rebuke of a right-wing opposition that "decided to try to divide us" by attacking his name and religious faith, launching what he described as "one of the ugliest campaigns we've seen in our lifetimes" to distract from the key issues facing American families, including the spiraling cost-of-living crisis.
"We all know that my name and my faith aren't the reason you can't afford your gas," said the senator-elect. "Not the reason you can't afford your groceries. Not the reason you can't see a doctor."
To his Republican opponent, El-Sayed said: "Mike, enjoy your retirement. I know you got a house in Florida and two yachts. See, you chose hate, and Michigan chose hope."
Watch El-Sayed's victory speech in full:
With El-Sayed's win, Democrats have secured 54 US Senate seats starting in January, along with the party's control of the US House of Representatives, where Democrats are on track to have their largest majority since 2008.
As of 5:00 am ET Wednesday morning, two US Senate races had yet to be called and were razor-close: Alaska and Mississippi.
Joining El-Sayed in representing Michigan in the US Congress will be progressive activist and Sunrise Movement cofounder Will Lawrence, who was projected to defeat Republican incumbent Tom Barrett despite being heavily outspent.
“Democrats won tonight because they ran on economic populism, not milquetoast, status quo politics," said Aru Shiney-Ajay, the Sunrise Movement's executive director. "That’s why $30 million in corporate spending against Lawrence, the most expensive House race in US history, wasn’t enough to defeat him. Young people knocked on tens of thousands of doors and made hundreds of thousands of dials to elect him because they want a new Democratic Party."
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