The new Democratic majorities in Congress have a lot of work to do in January to (a) fix everything Donald Trump has broken and (b) prove to all the voters who swung their way this year that they can deliver results for all Americans and thus carry their midterm momentum into kicking corrupt and destructive Trumpism out of the Executive Branch in 2028. Where should Democrats start?
Former Chicago mayor, Illinois Congressman, and Obama chief of staff Rahm Emanuel puts four practical policies at the top of the agenda for transforming the Democrats “electoral coalition” into a “governing coalition”:
One, comprehensive lobbying reform for all three branches of government. Power wash the place—a ban on all stock trading, a ban on all participation in prediction markets, a mandatory retirement or term limits, a mandatory blind trust and then the Kushner rule, which is you can’t take foreign investments and money while you’re in government and for two years afterwards.
Two, while prices are up, what hasn’t gone up? The minimum wage in 20 years.… Raise the minimum wage.
And then third… restrict and repeal many of the tariffs.
And then, fourth, restore some of the healthcare cuts that were done on Medicaid and on the ACA exchange… so people get healthcare in America [Rahm Emanuel, interview with Ailsa Chang, “Rahm Emanuel Maps Out a Vision for What Democrats Can Achieve After Taking Congress,” NPR: All Things Considered, 2026.11.04].
Restoring Affordable Care Act subsidies and Medicaid would provide real financial relief for lots of South Dakotans, not just from those eligible for those programs but for everyone else paying higher premiums because of uncompensated care and the relatively healthy people whom Republicans have priced out of the ACA Marketplace. More affordable coverage also means more people go to the doctor and get better, which is good policy economically and humanely.
Rolling back tariffs would give South Dakota farmers exactly what they say they want: bigger markets instead of government bailouts. Getting back to Reaganesque free trade would reduce taxes and the cost of living for all South Dakotans.
Raising the federal minimum wage would boost incomes at the bottom of the economic heap. Thanks to South Dakota voters’ endorsement of Democratic policy back in 2014, the state’s minimum wage will increase January 1 from $11.85 an hour to $12.30. Emanuel said last month he’d push the stagnant federal minimum wage from $7.25 to $20 by 2030.
Ethics and lobbying reform might not immediately put more money in voters’ pockets, but tackling corruption would keep corporate cash from flowing into fat-cat politicians’ pockets and stop the Trump crime family from raiding the treasury for its personal benefit. Less money from plutocrats means more attention from elected officials to the people who elect them, and more attention to voters’ needs can lead to better bread-and-butter policies like the rest of the agenda Emanuel prescribes.
Delivering the change voters expect is good for South Dakota and America. History suggests it can also be good for turning midterm momentum into a White House win:
…in 2007, led the effort in ’06 to make Nancy speaker, take the majority. Senator Obama, John McCain, Russ Feingold, and in the House, myself, Marty Meehan and Chris Shays, we passed the last major lobbying and ethics reform 20 years ago. Use the majority and then what happens a year later? President Obama gets elected. OK, use the majority to make real change, make the coalition that elected that change, be a governing coalition and deliver [Emanuel, in Chang, 2026.11.04].
Democrats have plenty of divisions, but Emanuel’s four policy priorities should span any intra-party fault lines. Boosting health coverage, cutting tariffs, raising the minimum wage, and pushing clean government are all good practical moves for making South Dakota and America work better. Enacting those real changes now (and somehow persuading lame-duck Donald to sign them between vanity projects or convincing defeat-dazed Republicans they are now free to defy the President and overturn vetoes) will also help Democrats make their case for hold Congress and retake the White House in 2028.