‘The 120th Congress is coming’: Democrats who flipped US House pack freshman orientation

WASHINGTON — With a sweeping majority secured in the U.S. House next Congress, newly elected Democrats arrived in the nation’s capital this week vowing to act on their agenda of affordability and accountability.

The dozens of Democrats who flipped the House majority are in Washington, D.C., for several days as part of new member orientation. The onboarding tradition for both parties features training sessions and programming, as well as a class photo on the U.S. Capitol steps and a room lottery to determine their office spaces. 

In early January, the new members will be sworn in, and Democrats will spend the next two years attempting to deliver on the issues they spent months campaigning on — ranging from lowering the high cost of healthcare to enacting anti-corruption efforts to trying to overturn the GOP’s mega tax and spending cut law. 

Their introduction was overwhelming at times. Rep.-elect J.D. Ford, the Democrat who will represent Indiana’s 5th Congressional District, said orientation is “definitely like drinking from a fire hose, but I’m just trying to take it day by day.’’ 

Ford said he’s “really excited to make some relationships,” noting that “obviously this building is all about that, so this has been really good for us to not just meet members of my own party, but potential members I could work across the aisle with.” 

Rep.-elect Oliver G. Gilbert III, set to represent Florida’s historically Black-dominated 24th Congressional District, said “we have a lot to do, but I know we’re up to the task.

“This country is 250 years old, and we’re the greatest country in the history of the world, but our greatness is always tomorrow, it’s not yesterday, so it’s what we make it, and so, we’re going to make it something better in this Congress,” he said.  

“The 120th Congress is coming.” 

The blue tsunami 

During the programming, States Newsroom got a glimpse into the top priorities of several incoming Democratic members, who are riding on the heels of a blue tsunami that swept the country on Election Day and also flipped the U.S. Senate. 

At least 75 new House Democrats, excluding non-voting delegates, have been elected as of Wednesday afternoon, The Associated Press projected, with 12 races to be called. Democrats will control at least 255 seats in the House, according to the AP.

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York — the likely speaker in the new Congress — would helm Democrats’ legislative agenda if elected by his peers. 

But with more than two years left in office, President Donald Trump is all but certain to veto many of Democrats’ measures, potentially making the party’s work more of a messaging exercise ahead of the 2028 presidential election.  

Still, Democratic members-elect who made a new majority laid out the visions they are eager to deliver on in the next Congress, fueled by voters’ concerns in their districts:

Florida 

Gilbert, set to represent the Sunshine State’s 24th Congressional District, wants to “make the American dream more accessible,” pointing to affordability and accountability as the avenue to those aims. 

“When I talk to people, it doesn’t matter whether you’re speaking Haitian Creole, you’re speaking Spanish, you’re speaking English, they’re all worried about the price of gas, the accessibility of healthcare, the lack of affordable, quality housing, how your kids are going to be educated, whether the American dream is still going to be accessible to them,” Gilbert said.

Indiana 

Ford, who unseated incumbent Republican Rep. Victoria Spartz, said he heard “over and over again” from voters in the district that they were “really tired of seeing the grift from this administration.” 

He also cited healthcare accessibility and broader affordability as other major priorities. 

“Cost of utilities, groceries, you name it — people are actually talking about it at their kitchen dinner table, so I think moving forward, still trying to get my sea legs here, but we need to address those issues in this next Congress when we get back here in January,” Ford said. 

Maryland

For Rep.-elect Adrian Boafo of Maryland, addressing the Trump administration’s major downsizing of the federal workforce and its effects on constituents in his 5th Congressional District marks a priority for him heading into Congress. 

“Federal workers have been downright assaulted by this administration,” said Boafo, who is succeeding and previously served as an aide to retiring Democratic Rep. Steny Hoyer. 

“Frankly, we’ve got to find a pathway to not just rehire the people who, in my opinion, were illegally fired — we also have to provide some oversight as to what happened with DOGE,” Boafo added, pointing to an earlier initiative under the Trump administration that sought to drastically reduce federal government spending and resulted in mass firings across agencies, hitting Marylanders hard in particular. 

Michigan

Rep.-elect Donavan McKinney, set to represent Michigan’s 13th Congressional District, said overturning the GOP’s mega tax and spending cut law, known as the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” is top of mind for him heading into Congress. 

“What I’m hearing every single day from my residents, they’re getting letters in the mail as we speak … that they’re going to get kicked off food assistance, their healthcare,” said McKinney, whose district is among the poorest in the country and includes parts of Detroit. 

Nebraska

Rep.-elect Denise Powell, who will represent Nebraska’s 2nd Congressional District, said “we need to get a farm bill passed as soon as humanly possible,” pointing to the long overdue agriculture aid and nutrition programs package that has stalled amid partisan disputes. 

Powell, who will be the first Latina to represent Nebraska in Congress after flipping the seat of retiring GOP Rep. Don Bacon, pointed to healthcare as another priority heading into Congress. 

For Powell, part of that includes wanting to reverse the Medicaid cuts baked into the tax and spending cut law, which axes roughly $1 trillion in program spending over 10 years.    

Wisconsin

Rep.-elect Mitchell Berman said his No. 1 priority is to deliver on the needs of constituents in his southeastern Wisconsin district, which includes “lowering costs of living, making sure that folks can afford to put food on the table, pay their rent and also healthcare.” 

As a registered nurse, Berman said with that background he wants to “make sure we can make healthcare affordable for folks.” 

Berman flipped Wisconsin’s 1st Congressional District after defeating incumbent GOP Rep. Bryan Steil. The district has not seen a Democrat hold the seat in more than three decades. 

Also in the Badger State, Rep.-elect Rebecca Cooke said she’s focused on fulfilling the campaign promises she ran on, including “lowering healthcare costs — making sure it’s affordable and accessible — combating corruption really on both sides of the aisle, delivering for our agricultural communities by ending the war in Iran, changing what we do with tariffs.” 

Cooke flipped Wisconsin’s 3rd Congressional District after beating incumbent GOP Rep. Derrick Van Orden in another upset for Republicans.