Hakeem Jeffries wants to strip the President's war powers while Iran is still shooting at us.
That's not a campaign promise from six months ago. That's the plan for the first 100 hours of the new Congress — before the ink on the swearing-in certificates is dry.
The incoming House Speaker laid out what Democrats are calling a "bold, dramatic change" agenda this week, a legislative blitz that targets Trump's healthcare policies, reverses nearly $1 trillion in Medicaid cuts, dismantles his tariffs, and forces votes on war powers resolutions aimed at ending military operations in Iran. The plan is designed to undo two years of the Trump agenda as fast as possible — in roughly four days.
Jeffries, currently House Minority Leader from New York, framed the whole thing as kitchen-table economics. "Fighting for an affordable America, that's what unites Democrats all across the country," he said. The affordability pitch is the wrapping paper. The war powers vote is what's actually inside the box.
Rep. Robert Garcia, a California Democrat expected to chair the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, offered his own opening statement on election night: "Lawyer up." Not "here's how we'll lower your grocery bill." Not "here's our plan for working families." Lawyer up. That's the mood.
Senator Peter Welch of Vermont tried to play the adult in the room, cautioning that "We can't turn this into just a vengeance tour." The fact that a sitting Democratic senator felt the need to say that out loud tells you everything about where the caucus is headed.
The progressive wing is already stacking additional demands on top of the 100-hour plan. Senator Bernie Sanders wants to lower Medicare eligibility to age 55 and expand benefits. Others are pushing tougher AI development restrictions. The wish list is growing faster than the clock allows.
President Trump doesn't seem particularly worried. "They are in control, but they're really not in control," he told Fox News after the election results came in. "They can send over 50 different, great bills that they're all excited about, and I send them back with a nice stamp — veto."
He's not wrong on the math. Overriding a presidential veto requires a two-thirds majority in both chambers. Democrats don't have it. The Senate filibuster still requires 60 votes. Democrats fall short there too. The legislative blitz makes for a great press conference. It makes for very few actual laws.
We've seen this movie before. In 2019, Democrats took the House with a nearly identical "first 100 days" agenda — healthcare, oversight, investigations, accountability. Nancy Pelosi held the gavel for two years. The signature achievement was an impeachment that ended in acquittal.
The 100-hour framing itself is borrowed from 2007, when Democrats under Steny Hoyer promised to remake government in their first week. They passed a minimum wage increase. Everything else stalled, died in committee, or got vetoed.
So now Jeffries gets his turn. Restore ACA subsidies. Reverse Medicaid cuts. Kill the tariffs. Restrict the Commander-in-Chief's authority over active military operations in a hostile theater. Launch investigations into Trump family businesses, immigration enforcement, and the Epstein probe. All in 100 hours.
Trump has a veto pen and a two-thirds threshold they can't reach. The Senate has a filibuster they can't break. The Iran theater has active operations they can't wave away with a resolution.
Four days to undo two years. The stamp says veto.
