Democrats are facing challenges formulating a response to the Trump administration’s avalanche of new policies and overhaul of the federal government with uncertainty of how to move forward after losing control of the White House and Senate in the 2024 election.

Pressure from the party’s base has mounted on Democratic leadership to have a better response to the second Trump administration that has moved swiftly to overhaul the federal government. There has been mass layoffs of the civilian workforce, the development of a budget bill that could bring massive cuts to social safety nets and a ramp-up in deportations and illegal immigration enforcement.

The party is still working through how to move forward after November with limited options to stand as a roadblock for President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans to implement their agenda. Republicans have narrow margins in Congress, but will be able to enact complete overhauls of the country’s spending priorities through the budget reconciliation process that allows them to bypass the Senate filibuster.

Democrats have essentially no leverage in shaping policy aside from withholding votes for must-pass bills to draw concessions such as the debt limit, a move that does not have a history of success. All Trump’s nominees have also sailed through the Senate, with most receiving Democratic support outside of his most controversial choices.

Democratic governors and attorneys general have been the party’s resistance to Trump during his first month in office, challenging his executive orders in courts and finding ways to not comply with policies.

Many of the administration’s moves that have irked Democrats were widely predicted before Trump took office, raising frustrations about why lawmakers have struggled to respond.

The party is also facing pressure from each of its wings to move in opposite directions after Republicans’ success in November. Progressive voters want the party to move in a more liberal direction while its moderate and Democratic-leaning independents want it to trend toward the center.

“The real challenge for Democrats is: What do they choose to fight on?” said David McLennan, a political science professor and director of the Meredith poll. “They’ve got an issue with the issues to fight back on, and they’ve also got an issue with not having a messenger to fight back with.

“Typically, with parties out of power, particularly when they don’t control any of the three White House, House or Senate, they don’t have a natural spokesperson, so that’s just a tough position to be in when it’s coming at them so quickly.”

Along with conflicting priorities and limited power to resist Trump’s policies, Democrats are facing all-time lows in approval rating from the American public. A Quinnipiac University poll released last week found just 22% of voters approve of the way Democrats in Congress are handling their job, the worst recorded figure in the poll. Sour attitudes toward Democratic lawmakers remain even among supporters, with just 40% of Democrats approving of their performance.

“It’s a sobering slap down of historic proportions for the Democrats in Congress. Their Republican counterparts take a victory lap as the Democrats try to get their footing,” Quinnipiac University polling analyst Tim Malloy said in a release.

Republicans are still riding November’s election success, hitting an all-time high in voter approval for their work in Congress at 40%. Trump is also getting a honeymoon period with the American public during his second term though there are some warning signs with concern about the future of the economy and inflation.

Some Democrats have been pushing to practice patience while voters’ attitudes toward a new administration sour as they have in the past, though that approach offers little relief to frustrated activists and donors in the interim.

The 2026 midterms are nearly two years away with plenty of time for the political dynamics to change around the two major parties and for Democrats to find their footing with the seemingly endless moves coming from the Oval Office.

“Americans are still generally dissatisfied, and that’s why we’re seeing so much change from election cycle to election cycle. Democrats may be saved by the fact that 2026 is not that far away. People are still going to be generally dissatisfied. They may like specific things about immigration or whatever, but generally, the larger dynamics are still there for a change election happening in 2026 even if the Democrats are still kind of in disarray.”

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