It happened. Donald Trump and his Republican Party have gained a governing trifecta in Washington. On top of this, they have a Supreme Court supermajority keen on bending the law every which way to Trump’s will. For people who care about the wellbeing of minorities, or are marginalized themselves, this is the absolute worst outcome possible. Among the promised policies: mass deportations, restrictions on transgender people’s access to healthcare, further state bans on abortion healthcare and a slew of federal restrictions, attacks on marriage equality, the rollback of all progress made on decarbonizing our economy and infrastructure, and a variety of other actions undoing the progress this nation has made in its long history. This is, quite frankly, a bleak moment for those interested in continuing progress to better humanity in the long run.
There will be hundreds of pundits and politicos eulogizing the Harris campaign, attempting to conduct the most accurate autopsy. However, time cannot be wasted musing on the failure that is now behind us. It’s time for Democratic governors to unleash their state-level bully pulpits and legislate, protect, and govern American citizens.
Governors, even without a trifecta, hold an immense amount of power to enact real change. Katie Hobbs, the governor of Arizona, has vetoed more bills than any other governor in the state’s history, including those restricting abortion rights, LGBTQ rights, and freedom of religion. Andy Beshear, the governor of Kentucky, similarly has struck down every bill restricting LGBTQ rights, citing his faith as the reason for his decisions. The election results are sure to accelerate and legitimize more attacks against our liberties at the state level, so it is imperative that Democratic governors who are dealing with Republican control of their legislatures continue to use their veto and executive power.
The areas where Democrats can really get work done lies in where they maintain a trifecta — especially California, New York, and Illinois. These three states alone account for 28 percent of the country’s GDP and close to 22 percent of the population of the country. The governors of these states — Gavin Newsom, Kathy Hochul, and J.B. Pritzker — have already signaled an awareness of their place in this moment. Newsom proactively called a special legislative session within 36 hours of Trump’s victory. During this session, they are expected to find ways to bolster their legal defense, as well as fortify environmental, and civil liberty protections. Gov. Hochul and Attorney General Letitia James, who have drawn ire from Trump, promised to defend civil liberties, announcing the “Empire State Freedom Initiative” to fight repressive federal measures. Gov. Pritzker of Illinois has vowed to be a “warrior” for his people, saying, “You come for my people, you come through me,” pursuing similar legal strategies and studying the Trump administration’s written plans to prepare for the next four years.
It is up to these governors to do everything in their power to prevent the immoral, inhumane mass deportation policies the Trump administration has promised to carry out. Even if this means deploying their national guards to protect their residents, there must be a coordinated resistance effort. Gov. Pritzker has announced the formation of “Governors Safeguarding Democracy,” which will hopefully be a strong coalition for concerned governors to collaborate in protecting their citizens.
Additionally, states with Democratic trifectas need to expand their protections and standards while sharing access to rights. Americans living in Republican states, who will be the most impacted by radical restrictions on civil liberties, still deserve access to those rights. In situations where Democratic states border states with abortion/healthcare bans — such as Indiana and neighboring Illinois — strategically placing clinics close to state borders is a perfectly legal strategy to save lives. More draconian limitations prevent crossing state lines for healthcare, but if we make it logistically easier, lives will be saved. Additionally, we can extend this approach to marriage equality. The Respect for Marriage Act, signed by Congress in 2022, ensured that all marriages are recognized in all states, regardless of state laws. Should the Supreme Court strike down Obergefell v. Hodges, a possibility considering three justices currently serving were dissenters in the ruling, Democratic state legislatures must enshrine marriage equality in their constitutions and ease paths for people to travel to them to get married.
There are a multitude of reasons Democrats were doomed nationally this election cycle and in 2016, but one throughline between the two campaigns is that, whether warranted or not, voters largely did not trust Democrats to provide on kitchen table issues: cost of living, low wages, worker rights, infrastructure, and all-around quality of life improvements. The time to enact these improvements nationally has passed with a Republican trifecta, but many of these improvements can be dealt with locally.
Some politicians are taking notice and already acting on it. For example, New York City Councilmember Chi Osse recently successfully ended forced broker fees for renters in the city. Such policies should be pursued at the state level with our governors taking the lead. The cost of living is far too high in many Democratic-led states. This has severe implications for the Americans who moved to red states to alleviate their bottom line, but they will now have to deal with repeated attacks on their civil liberties. Democratic legislators must encourage more affordable housing to be built in their states to lead the fight for people to live with dignity without fear of their rights being stripped.
Another massive sore spot in American life is our broken healthcare system, a realm where state-level policy can help alleviate pain. This effort will be necessary should Donald Trump fulfill his nine-year goal of repealing the Affordable Care Act. Many bills have tried, so far unsuccessfully, to implement a single payer healthcare option within a state for its residents. Should access to healthcare be strained federally, Democratic governors should be ready to push for in-state solutions.
In addition, there needs to be better jobs programs, higher state-enforced minimum wages, and a continued pursuit of climate change legislation, because there will certainly be no action taken at the federal level. Education, too, should continue to be prioritized in Democratic states. Republican states have gutted their education systems, leading to them consistently being ranked the least educated. This should be a sign that Democratic states need to continue leading the way in education, and not succumbing to policies like School Choice, which have proven counterproductive.
Democratic governors and their legislatures are not tied to a regressive national policy, which leaves them a large amount of room to implement policies protecting American citizens. The first step is to understand that the next four years go need to go beyond providing protection. They must consist of competent, inclusive, and ambitious governing on behalf of all American people, even those who don’t live within their state borders. Democratic run states may be the last bastions of American liberty, and their governors need to lead them as such.
The Zeitgeist aims to publish ideas worth discussing. The views presented are solely those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the views of the editorial board.
