Progressives in Washington are facing an existential crisis like never before as they brace for the incoming Trump administration. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Not only are they at odds with their own party, with many Democrats seeking to pin the blame for their November losses on them, but some on the left are also openly fearful that an emboldened GOP will use its influence against their flank.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhat is it that we can do that\u2019s effective when they control everything?\u201d said Joseph Geevarghese, who runs the grassroots organizing group Our Revolution. \u201cThey\u2019re going to use their state power against us. I think they\u2019re going to target progressives. \u2026 It\u2019s a very challenging moment.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Progressives faced their first postelection rebuke last week, when Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez\u2002<\/u><\/a>(D-N.Y.) missed out on a key leadership post on the House Oversight and Accountability Committee, a sign to many of their diminished influence. Not only did fellow Democrats reject her policies, but they preferred an older male candidate \u2014 Rep. Gerry Connolly\u2002<\/u><\/a>(D-Va.), whose profile resembles that of the congressman, former Rep. Joe Crowley\u2002<\/u><\/a>(D-N.Y.), she ousted six years ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Republicans, including President-elect Trump, publicly mocked her efforts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cReally too bad that AOC lost the Battle for the Leadership Seat in the Democrat Party. She should keep trying. Someday, she will be successful!\u201d Trump wrote in a post on his Truth Social platform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The loss is emblematic of an evolving political landscape that has proven challenging for progressives over the past several cycles. The 2018 surge of energy that helped fuel the formation of the \u201csquad\u201d has deflated, with some Democrats questioning its future. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Trump\u2019s rise to victory over Vice President Harris all but extinguished the momentum progressives were hoping would carry them forward on Capitol Hill. Democrats\u2019 main strategy against Trump was not effective, and progressives failed to differentiate themselves from other anti-Trump voices in the party. <\/p>\n\n\n\n While Ocasio-Cortez and her mentor, Sen. Bernie Sanders\u2002<\/u><\/a>(I-Vt.), each has vast national appeal \u2014 they\u2019re popular with young people and working-class voters Democrats say they need the most help winning back \u2014 there\u2019s still an open question about what they can tangibly do moving forward. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Some allies who have helped lift the progressive lawmakers\u2019 political careers say members of the left need to look beyond D.C. now for new clout. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI think it\u2019s always about organizing,\u201d one former Sanders campaign adviser said. \u201cThe tangible things that can be done are not just about legislation. It\u2019s about building a grassroots network that can affect things at every level.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cFrom the discussions I have been having with folks, I think it might be happening organically,\u201d the former adviser said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Both Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez have long relied on the use of small-dollar donations to fund their bids, shunning corporate donations and inspiring others to generate support from people with just a few dollars to give at once. Some are now fearful Republicans are beginning to try to weaponize that small-dollar model against them, further stifling their ascent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cElon Musk and [House Speaker] Mike Johnson have their sights on Act Blue,\u201d Geevarghese said about the platform progressives and other Democrats use for fundraising. \u201cThey know that\u2019s our money source. \u2026 It\u2019s a signal.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sanders has been critical of Democrats since Trump\u2019s win showed key deficiencies in states where many working-class voters reside. He has moved away from the unifying rhetoric most in the party used right before the election and has gone into introspection and even attack mode, urging his own party to change its priorities to focus more heavily on economic concerns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The economic-first approach is what got many progressives with nontraditional backgrounds elected to Capitol Hill initially. Ocasio-Cortez famously worked as a bartender before taking office, mirroring the trajectories of other \u201csquad\u201d members: Rep. Cori Bush\u2002<\/u><\/a>(D-Mo.) was a nurse, for example, while Rep. Jamaal Bowman\u2002<\/u><\/a>(D-N.Y.) was a school principal. Both were defeated by more centrist opponents in November.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Facing a lack of potency, others on the left are trying a newer strategy that seeks to merge some of their more palatable progressive goals with areas of populism favored by Trump. The handful of members who have tried to make that case, including Sen. John Fetterman\u2002<\/u><\/a>(D-Pa.) and Rep. Ro Khanna\u2002<\/u><\/a>(D-Calif.), have been met with interest among some on the opposing side. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Many progressives are starting to get on board with that tactic, possibly because there are few great options. \u201cWe\u2019ve got to engage with DOGE, and we\u2019ve got to point out what we think are the inefficiencies in the system like fossil fuel subsidies,\u201d Geevarghese said, referring to the \u201cDepartment of Government Efficiency,\u201d which is not a formal agency but a project conceived by Trump and Musk that has received much fanfare from conservatives. \u201cThat\u2019s going to be a major fight next year right around the expiration of the Trump tax cuts.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAnother example would be Pentagon spending,\u201d he said. \u201cI think we should engage on that and have a real fight over whether we need to fund certain initiatives. The question is, can we find common cause?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s a start, some say, of what could be a step forward for Democrats who have expressed profound discontent with how their leadership, strategists and party apparatus operate. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe party needs a reckoning with itself,\u201d said Corryn Freeman, a progressive operative and executive director of Future Coalition, an organizing network. \u201cThey\u2019re saying it out of their mouths, but their actions are fully aligned with the sameness that has gotten us to the place that we are now, which is powerless.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n