# ‘LAWYER UP’: Should Democrats Get Even With Trump?

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Congress didn’t free the slaves, end Jim Crow or stop the Vietnam War. Peoples’ movements did. As Democrats prepare to take control on Capitol Hill after the 2026 midterms, BreakThrough News editor-in-chief Ben Becker argues that’s still where real change comes from.

He joins Rania Khalek and Zoe Alexandra to break down what the new Democratic majority can, can’t, and won’t do. As Hakeem Jeffries says “the American people don’t want us to get even,” a growing list of administration crimes demands accountability: an unauthorized war on Iran, Caribbean boat strikes, the bombing of Caracas, ICE and DHS killings at home, and the corruption enriching Donald Trump’s family. Becker weighs in on what “getting even” should actually mean, and why the answer isn’t another Russiagate.

So what tools do the Democrats actually have? Becker says using the power of the purse, launching investigations that could pave the way for prosecutions, and clawing back the ICE funding Republicans locked in through 2029 are good places to start. They discuss why Democrats aren’t rushing to end the filibuster, and they look at the record: from Obama’s 2008 mandate to the 2018 rise of AOC and the Squad, Democratic wins have repeatedly ended in disappointment. What’s different now is that class politics, anger at billionaires, and the movement for socialism are stronger than they’ve been in decades.

“The whole point is to put the Mamdanis in an uncomfortable spot. That’s the actual way that you make change.”

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