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Here are the biggest fights Democrats are bracing for in Trump's second term

8 0
21.01.2025

House Democrats are bracing for major fights in the coming year as President Trump enters the White House for his second term and Republicans control all levers of power in Washington.

Trump, who was sworn in on Monday, has promised an ambitious legislative agenda, vowing to overhaul policies across the agencies while making bold claims that voters gave him a mandate to push those changes into being.

His proposed agenda touches on virtually every major policy issue governed by Washington — from immigration, energy and health care, to law enforcement, taxes and trade — and Democrats are already girding to protect their favored programs, including a long list of initiatives adopted by President Biden in response to the CCOVID-19 pandemic.

“We're getting ready for a broad-scale assault,” said Rep. Jamie Raskin (Md.), senior Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee. “It seems like the whole Trump party has now adopted the 'flood the zone' philosophy.”

Here’s where some of the key Democratic players see the biggest battles of 2025 emerging.

Deportations

One of Trump’s most prominent campaign planks was the promise to deport millions of immigrants living in the country without authorization.

“On day one, I will launch the largest deportation program in American history to get the criminals out,” Trump said just before the Nov. 3 election.

That policy shift can largely be initiated from the administration unilaterally, but it will be easier said than done. There are roughly 11 million immigrants without permanent legal status in the country, according to the latest federal estimate. And even if Trump focused solely on convicted criminals (almost 436,000, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement) and those facing criminal charges (almost 227,000), the costs would be massive.

That means Congress, which controls Washington’s spending, will also have a significant role to play in that debate. And Democrats are vowing a drag-out fight — one in which they see the business community as a powerful ally.

“I’m now hearing from a lot of companies that depend on migrant labor,” said Rep. Bennie Thompson (Miss.), the senior Democrat on the Homeland Security Committee, who listed deportations as a top issue on his radar. “So I think the perception that everybody wants people to go is not the case.”

Birthright Citizenship

Raskin said another of Trump’s early promises........

© The Hill