loading
loading
House progressives are planning to use their growing power to force votes next year on their most sweeping and divisive policies, including Medicare for All, abolishing ICE and cutting aid to Israel. Why it matters: The ultimate goal is to get these policies on the front burner for a Democratic president in 2029, even if that means forcing House Democrats into tough decisions. Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) told Axios the left wants mark-ups and votes on bills such as Medicare for All "so that we can prepare for when we have the trifecta and so that we can really build the support we need." "Forcing the vote is important so we can see where everyone is at, I think that's really key for 2028 and 2029," said Mai Vang, a progressive House candidate in California. The big picture: Here is what progressives most want to see go to a House vote in 2027, according to lawmakers, candidates and operatives who spoke to Axios: 1) Medicare for All The Medicare for All Act introduced by Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) has 118 co-sponsors — more than half the House Democratic caucus. The left wants to force the issue onto the floor and make their Democratic colleagues reckon with the policy's popularity in public opinion polls. Ultimately, they aim to ensure support for Medicare for All is a must-have for any 2028 presidential candidate to win the primary. "Years ago I negotiated with [former House Speaker Nancy] Pelosi to get the hearings, but we have not had a markup," Jayapal, a former Progressive Caucus chair, said in an interview with Axios. Jayapal pointed to the bill she and Rep. Pat Ryan (D-N.Y.) unveiled last week, which would lower the Medicare age from 65 to 50, as a potential compromise measure that could get caucus-wide support next year. Yes, but: A Democratic wave could bring in a bloc of members from red-leaning districts who could be sensitive to being tagged as wanting to end private insurance. Jayapal told Axios there's an "opening we've never seen before" with polling that suggests voters increasingly "hate private insurance." 2) Abolish or defund ICE Several progressives pointed to Rep. Delia Ramirez's (D-Ill.) "Melt ICE Act" — which would cut all funding for ICE detention and monitoring of immigrants — as a good start. Another Ramirez bill would go even further, fully abolishing ICE and dismantling ICE's parent agency, the Department of Homeland Security. Yes, but: Moderate Democrats have long opposed defunding ICE. Some centrists pushed back on the idea as recently as this January, following the shooting of Renée Good. Democratic congressional leadership has only gone so far as to propose reforms to the agency's practices rather than a reduction of its funds. Ramirez told Axios the question for progressives is how they go from just 23 co-sponsors on the Melt ICE Act to "a real narrative shift in the way that leadership talks about ICE" that treats it as being "past reform." 3) Cut aid to Israel The Block The Bombs Act, another Ramirez bill which would restrict presidents' ability to transfer offensive weaponry to Israel, is widely seen as the left's marquee legislation on this issue. But many Democrats, while fed up with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government, remain staunchly supportive of Israel. Between the lines: The left is putting external pressure on the party's pro-Israel wing, which suffered serious losses in House primaries this year, to get with the program. The traditional politics around funding to Israel no longer apply, progressives say. Said Jayapal: "If our Democratic leadership tries to pass funding for Israel with primarily Republican votes, which is what I think would have to happen, that would create an enormous rift." AI, money in politics and affordability AI: Progressives have been some of the earliest adopters of anti-AI rhetoric that has become increasingly mainstream, proposing strict regulations on the technology, a moratorium on data centers and a ban on Flock cameras. "I am far from a luddite," Rep. Analilia Mejia (D-N.J.) told Axios, "and yet it is clear that guardrails are necessary to ensure a future society and economy in which families can thrive." Money in politics: The left has also been pushing for wide-ranging reforms to campaign finance and government ethics, including strict limits on corporate spending in elections. Adam Hamawy, a progressive candidate in New Jersey, said he wants to see a vote on Rep. Summer Lee's (D-Pa.) bill to abolish super PACs, which would be highly controversial even among Democrats. Affordability: Many progressives who spoke to Axios threw out ideas for legislation they say would tackle the affordability crisis, one of the most salient issues in the 2026 election. "I think a living wage is going to be a really important one, childcare, some of those pieces," Jayapal said, also pointing to a bill to eliminate the payroll tax cap as a way to keep Social Security solvent. Hamawy floated universal childcare as well and said Congress should also repeal the Faircloth Amendment, a 1998 law restricting the number of public housing units the Department of Housing and Urban Development can subsidize. What's next: These progressives are clear-eyed about the lack of a speaker alternative to House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), but they're privately strategizing how to use their votes to extract policy concessions if Democrats' majority is small enough.
document fetched 2026-10-30 02:56 · canonical https://axios.com/2026/10/29/democrats-medicare-for-all-ice-israel