In the recent midterm elections, U.S. voters delivered an astonishing rebuke to the Trump administration and the current leadership of Congress—flipping Senate seats in such seemingly unlikely places as South Carolina, Kansas, Iowa, and Texas, and sending Democrats to an overwhelming majority of seats in the House of Representatives and to a lead in state governorships for the first time in a generation.
More information will undoubtedly emerge in the coming days about the reasons for this astounding electoral sea-change, but this much is already clear: voters across ages, genders, races, education levels, geographic location, and political affiliation spoke together to reject the abuses of power they have endured over the past two years of the Trump administration. This vote was a demand for greater accountability, integrity, and humanity from elected officials.
As a result, the 120th Congress will take office in January with an unmistakable popular mandate to advance human rights, close the door on cruelty, and promote accountability again in public life. No matter the party to which they belong, they must not squander this historic opportunity.
It’s not just the economy
The exorbitant price of food, fuel, and other basic necessities was high on the mind of voters heading into Tuesday’s election. But it would be a mistake to interpret the vote solely as a response to the Trump administration’s economic policies, rather than this president’s many human rights violations and abuses of power. After all, these issues are interconnected.
The White House’s unlawful war of aggression on Iran has raised the price of gas. The administration’s waste of taxpayer funds on ICE violence is pulling resources away from health care, food assistance, disaster preparedness, and other federal programs that meet human needs. Their bullying and belligerent attitude to U.S. allies created unnecessary new trade barriers and raised the cost of basic goods.
Moreover, while nearly every demographic group swung against the GOP in this election, some of the biggest shifts reportedly came from the communities this administration has most cruelly and ferociously attacked. Over the past two years, Trump’s administration has racially profiled Hispanic people across the country and unleashed unspeakable violence against them and other BIPOC communities. It is no surprise that Hispanic voters shifted against Trump’s party by a roughly 30-point margin in Tuesday’s vote.
The midterm elections were therefore not merely a rejection of inflation and tariffs. They were also a verdict on the current government’s militarism, imperialism, “America First” bullying, and cruelty in general. Congress must recognize this mandate and take bipartisan action to end Trump’s wars, cut off funding for Trump’s deportation and detention systems, and restore a human rights–based approach to foreign policy. Here’s how:
What the 120th Congress can do
Even new congressional majorities will face institutional barriers to legislating. Donald Trump has already threatened to use his veto power, and it is not clear that Congress would have the votes to overcome White House opposition.
Nevertheless, the 120th Congress will have important powers of oversight, accountability, and appropriations that they should not hesitate to wield as a check on Trump’s abuses. Here are some actions they can take immediately:
- Stop the wars and oppose militarism. Congress should pass a resolution to end Trump’s war on Iran. Similar measures have already received significant bipartisan support in both chambers, and both Democrats and Republicans should work together to enact them into law. They should also use Congress’s power of the purse to cut off any additional funding for the war on Iran and Palestine, imperialist adventurism in Latin America, and the ongoing extrajudicial murders of people on civilian vessels in the Caribbean and the Pacific.
- End ICE violence against our communities. Congress should also use its appropriations power to zero out funding for Trump’s detention and deportation machines. The midterms were a clear expression of voters’ opposition to ICE killings, racial profiling, deaths in detention centers, mandatory incarceration without bond in internment camps, illegal renditions without due process to secret prisons in third countries, and other atrocities that Americans across parties and districts oppose. For the same reason, Congress should also enact bipartisan protections for TPS holders from Haiti, Burma and other communities whose legal status this administration has tried to unjustly strip away.
- Recenter human rights in foreign policy. Voters are tired of seeing cruelty, selfishness, and brute force exalted as the governing principles of U.S. foreign policy. As our partners at the Alliance for Diplomacy and Justice have documented in a recent report, the vast majority of Americans across demographic and partisan groups want the United States to lead by example in promoting human rights. While Congress cannot immediately undo all the damage of the past two years, they can and should restore funding for humanitarian assistance through appropriations and enact legislation to hold the military junta in Burma accountable for crimes against humanity.
Help us continue to push the new Congress to follow through on this mandate from the people by joining our Resistance Network. In the months ahead, we will continue to resist the executive branch’s abuses of power while also pivoting to build momentum for positive and lasting change in Congress. Sign up here for updates and opportunities to take action.
