In The News
New Dems Unveil Working Groups, Policy Platform for 119th Congress
by Dan McCue
The New Democrat Coalition on Wednesday unveiled its vision and policy platform for the 119th Congress, and how its nine distinct working groups will advance that agenda. “In the 2024 election, when the tide went out for Democrats nationally, New Dems were able to swim against the tide adding 25 new members,” New Dem Chair Brad Schneider, D-Ill., said during a morning press conference at the Capitol. “We actually cut into Republicans’ already historically narrow majority, not because we … Continue Reading
September 17, 2025
Democrats need a new, pragmatic message on immigration
by Artem Kolisnichenko
At the end of August, the New Democrat Coalition , which brings together 115 moderate House Democrats, presented a new immigration framework. The essence is a move away from the usual extremes — cruelty vs. amnesty — offering a pragmatic balance: stronger border enforcement and deportations, together with expansion of legal entry paths and responding to economic needs. Against the backdrop of polarization, this is the first systematic step by Democrats to build a centrist position aimed at … Continue Reading
August 25, 2025
These House Democrats seek a new middle ground on immigration
by Marianna Sotomayor
A group of House Democrats hope they have the solution to a policy issue that has long plagued the Democratic Party: immigration reform. The New Democrat Coalition, comprising 115 members who span the caucus’s ideological spectrum, released a framework Monday containing policy proposals on topics including increasing financial and operational support to border agents and rethinking U.S. visa policy. The proposals have not been endorsed by House Democratic leaders; in fact, Democratic … Continue Reading
June 27, 2025
Horsford leads House Democrat coalition in tax reform plan
by Jessica Hill
Rep. Steven Horsford, D-Nev., led House Democrats in creating their own tax plan as an alternative to Republicans’ “big, beautiful bill” on the table. The New Democrat Coalition, a center-left group of 115 members of House Democrats that includes Horsford and Nevada Rep. Susie Lee, unveiled the tax framework this week, and Horsford was selected by the chair to head its tax and economic prosperity framework. Horsford said Republicans’ plan, which is currently in the Senate, includes tax … Continue Reading
June 25, 2025
Moderate Democrats offer counter tax plan
by Eleanor Mueller
A group of moderate House Democrats will release their proposal Wednesday for how their party should revamp taxes if given the chance, drawing a contrast with Republicans’ own sweeping legislation. The goal of the plan from the New Democrat Coalition is to “promote economic growth without exacerbating the long-term fiscal situation or cutting essential programs like Medicaid and SNAP,” according to a summary shared with Semafor. It includes some of the policies Republicans want to enact as … Continue Reading
February 26, 2025
New Democrats Outline 2026 Strategy
by Maeve Sheehey
Clear policy positions on immigration, housing, and other hot-button issues will help Democrats retake the House majority in 2026, leaders of the New Democrat Coalition told reporters today. The center-left group posited in its “vision” released this week that moderate proposals, contrasted with the personalities they say are overtaking the GOP, will win back swing voters after a dreadful 2024 performance across the party. “It’s so sad these days that if you’re a Republican and say you … Continue Reading
February 25, 2025
Moderate Democrats Lay Out Their Strategy to Reach Voters
by Daniella Diaz
With the largest bloc of Democrats in the House, the New Democrat Coalition is putting forward a strategy to win back voters and boost the party ahead of 2026. The group will send around a memo Wednesday morning laying out its vision of how it plans to tackle major policy issues this Congress as President Donald Trump and the Republican trifecta pushes forward their agenda. The memo, exclusively obtained by NOTUS ahead of its release, lays out the three pillars: economic growth and … Continue Reading
October 17, 2023
The GOP-led House is in chaos. Bipartisanship is the only path forward.
by Rep. Annie Kuster
As the world faces new and ongoing threats to peace and democracy — from the war in Ukraine to the violent terrorist attacks on Israel — the United States should stand as a beacon of hope and freedom. Yet, Republican chaos in the House of Representatives is threatening our global standing. The American people and U.S. allies deserve better than the chaos of House Republican leadership. Over the last two weeks, the House has convened for less than 20 minutes. Without a Speaker, we cannot vote … Continue Reading
September 25, 2023
Center-Left Democrats Endorse Farm Bill Policies to Combat Hunger and Poverty
by Stephen Neukam
A group of fiscally moderate Democrats are looking to the Farm Bill to combat rising food insecurity, endorsing a slate of 44 measures to bolster nutrition programs and strengthen food supply chains. The endorsements from the New Democrat Coalition, a caucus of nearly 100 fiscally moderate Democrats, details of which were first shared with The Messenger, lays down a mostly bipartisan marker of policy priorities as Washington confronts the renewal of the country’s primary agriculture and food … Continue Reading
September 18, 2023
Dems urge McCarthy to face reality, work with them on spending bills
by Andrew Solender
With the clock ticking to fund the government and avoid a shutdown at the end of the month, Democrats are pressing House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) to accept an idea that seems inevitable: You will need us, one way or another. Why it matters: Any spending bills will need agreement from the Senate and President Biden — a challenge for McCarthy, whose right flank in the House is steering him toward severe budget cuts while threatening to replace him and seemingly welcoming a … Continue Reading
September 08, 2023
Rep. Gabe Vasquez Discusses New Dem Letter to Speaker McCarthy Calling for Bipartisan Action to Address Fentanyl Crisis and Secure Southern Border
by Cat Oriel
Rep. Gabe Vasquez (D-NM) has a direct message for House lawmakers regarding the fentanyl crisis: “We’ve got to put politics aside.” As a Democrat who grew up in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, and now represents a large border district in New Mexico, the freshman Democratic lawmaker believes he brings a distinctive perspective to the issue of immigration. “I actually grew up on the other side of the border wall, but I did have the privilege of being an American citizen,” he says. “I'm uniquely … Continue Reading
July 19, 2023
The New Dems plot a course for Biden’s legislative agenda
by Kadia Goba
THE SCOOP: The New Democrats, the self-described “pragmatic” caucus that includes close to 100 House members, is introducing a new economic agenda, hoping to build on a string of recent good news on inflation, jobs, and wages. New Democrat Coalition’s 22-page plan, “The Economic Opportunity Agenda,” shared exclusively with Semafor, includes eight key issues where members hope to “lower costs, fight inflation, and grow the middle class” in the current Congress and beyond. KADIA’S VIEW: The … Continue Reading
July 17, 2023
New Dem Members Travel to National Institutes of Health (NIH) to Meet with Experts on Substance Use, Mental Health, Cancer, and Cutting-Edge Research
June 01, 2023
Inside a debt ceiling standoff ‘far more dangerous than people will recognize’
by Jeremy Diamond, Lauren Fox, Melanie Zanona, Phil Mattingly, Arlette Saenz and Kevin Liptak
President Joe Biden ended the month of May the same way he began it: with a phone call to House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. His first call invited McCarthy to the first in a series of meetings to negotiate an agreement on the debt ceiling and the budget. His latest came Wednesday night, after a bipartisan coalition in the House voted 314 to 117 to comfortably pass that agreement, moving the White House a critical step closer to dodging the kind of economic calamity that could derail two years of … Continue Reading
June 01, 2023
House approves the Biden-McCarthy debt ceiling bill as default deadline looms
by Barbara Sprunt
House lawmakers have passed a piece of compromise legislation brokered between President Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy to avoid an unprecedented debt default with just days to spare. The Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 overwhelmingly cleared the chamber Wednesday evening with a 314-117 vote. The high stakes negotiations and subsequent passage of the bill were a critical test for McCarthy as speaker. With his narrow majority, McCarthy carried out a balancing act — crafting a … Continue Reading
May 31, 2023
Biden tried an ice-then-court strategy with House Dems. It worked.
by Jennifer Haberkorn, Adam Cancryn, and Nicholas Wu
For 11 days this spring, President Joe Biden iced out his Democratic allies as he negotiated with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy over raising the nation’s debt limit. With Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries at the table, Biden was convinced the talks had grown too unwieldy. The White House wanted to narrow the conversation, leaving other Democrats to steam. Progressives openly criticized Biden. Allies, such as Congressional Black Caucus … Continue Reading
May 31, 2023
A break-glass option, gumbo and a bike ride: How the debt ceiling deal got done
by Peter Nicholas, Mike Memoli, Katherine Doyle, Monica Alba, Sahil Kapur and Scott Wong
Right up until the end, the White House was exploring contingency plans in case the high-stakes talks with Republicans to raise the debt ceiling and avert economic disaster collapsed. The White House was considering the unprecedented step of bypassing Congress altogether and invoking the Constitution’s 14th Amendment, which states that “the validity of the public debt … shall not be questioned.” President Joe Biden worried that there wasn’t enough time for … Continue Reading
May 31, 2023
A Washington surprise: Centrists push back against fringes in debt deal
by Toluse Olorunnipa
For weeks, conservative Republicans warned House Speaker Kevin McCarthy not to back down from sweeping spending cuts, saying anything else would be an unforgivable betrayal. Liberals implored President Biden to abandon the debt ceiling talks altogether, insisting the Constitution enabled him to simply ignore Republican demands. But in the end, the two leaders opted for a middle-of-the-road settlement, aiming to coalesce center-right and center-left lawmakers around the idea that an imperfect … Continue Reading
May 30, 2023
Debt limit deal clears key hurdle; more land mines await
by David Lerman and Lindsey McPherson
Bipartisan legislation to suspend the debt limit until after the 2024 elections cleared its first critical hurdle Tuesday night, when the House Rules Committee backed the terms for floor debate that is scheduled for Wednesday. Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., and President Joe Biden, who negotiated the package, appear likely to have the votes to pass the measure, despite rising anger from the GOP majority’s hard-right flank and some concerns on the left as well. First, party leaders … Continue Reading
May 29, 2023
Biden, McCarthy Work Lawmakers to Pass Deal as Time Runs Short
by Jennifer Jacobs, Erik Wasson, and Billy House
The White House and Republican congressional leaders geared up lobbying campaigns to win approval of a deal to avert a US default as environmentalists, defense hawks and conservative hard-liners condemned concessions. President Joe Biden is personally calling lawmakers to support this bill, while cabinet members and senior White House staff already had called at least 60 House Democrats by early Monday morning, a Democratic official said. “I never say I’m confident about … Continue Reading