If Democrats win, they’ll need to work with Trump. They just aren’t clear on what

Last month, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries came under significant fire after The New York Times reported that he met with President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner. It particularly irritated some Democrats because Democrats hope to investigate Kushner and the rest of the Trump family, particularly looking into any ways they benefited financially from their closeness to the president.

Jeffries had to respond by saying, “Nobody is going to get a pass.” But the meeting illustrated an uncomfortable truth: If Democrats do win back the House of Representatives, let alone the Senate, they will go from being the opposition that regularly criticizes Trump to having to govern with him.

Historically, the president’s party loses control of at least one chamber of Congress during the midterm elections. But while that would allow Democrats to block some of Trump’s major policy initiatives, it would also mean they would need to actually govern with him, find ways to keep the government funded and respond to crises.

But even moderate Democrats aren’t exactly sure where they can work with Trump.

“I would hope he'd be be willing to work with us on anything that's going to make life easier for the American people, namely trying to bring down the cost of living, trying to put our economy on stronger footing and national security in a better place,” Rep. Brad Schneider of Illinois told The Independent. When asked what that would entail, he cited tariffs, but that would be more along the line of reining in Trump on his authority — not working with the president.

And thats the issue — some Democrats would benefit from occasionally working with Trump, but tat isn’t what they are preaching.

Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez of Washington represents a district that voted for Trump and is a co-chairwoman of the Blue Dog Caucus, a coterie of fiscally conservative Democrats. But she did not offer a clear answer about where she would work with Trump.

“I hope that folks around the president recognize the need to bring back American confidence in his leadership, and figure out where are these spots where we can be useful to people and get out of the spiral of like the D.C. Beltway games,” she told The Independent.

Democrats might be perplexed about how to work with Trump because much of the time they had a majority during Trump’s first term, between 2019 and 2021, they opposed him. They were sworn in after winning the 2018 midterms when Trump shut down the government because he wanted to include money for his proposed border wall with Mexico.

And, of course, House Democrats would also impeach him in 2019 before the Senate voted to acquit after all but one Republican sided with the president. Democrats would cap off Trump’s second term with a vote to impeach him again in 2021 after the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol.

Rep.e Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York suggested that Democrats could get Trump to roll back cuts to Medicaid in his One Big, Beautiful Bill since many Trump supporters use Medicaid.

“I know that many people who consider who consider themselves MAGA rely on Medicaid, and they don't deserve to suffer because of the horrifying cuts, trillion-dollar-in cuts in healthcare,” she told The Independent. “And so I know that the House is more than willing, should we take the majority, to pass a reconciliation.”

But aside from that, essential functions would still need to be performed. Rep. Jim Himes of Connecticut would become chairman of the House Intelligence Committee if Democrats won. He specifically cited how Congress needed to reauthorize the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which expired this year due to opposition by many Democrats and a handful of Republicans.

He also said he appreciated Jay Clayton, Trump’s new director of National Intelligence, compared to Tulsi Gabbard.

“In contrast to his two predecessors, I think we can make real progress on some things associated with keeping Americans safe,” he said.

Some are more optimistic. Rep. Tom Suozzi of New York, who represents a district Trump won, had one area.

“Immigration, that’s my No. 1 thing,” he told The Independent.

Some have hoped that under a Democratic House, Trump could finally cut an agreement to fortify security at the U.S.-Mexico border while also providing relief to undocumented immigrants who have committed no crimes.

But that seems unlikely in a White House filled with immigration hardliners like Stephen Miller.

Rep. Lori Trahan of Massachusetts has been working on legislation on AI with Republicans.

“I think it's we're running out of time with every model that escapes its testing environment, we run the risk of catastrophe,” she told The Independent. “So I'm hoping that's an area where not just Democrats and Republicans can work together, but the president can sign a bill.”

But Rep. Greg Landsman, who represents a Trump district in Ohio, is not as optimistic as others.

“They won't talk to us,” he said. “They won't negotiate with us. I mean, part of the reason it's been so chaotic and unproductive is they have no interest in working with us, I doubt that's going to change.”