Affordability, including high food costs, helped Democrats win both houses of Congress. What they can actually do about grocery bills, with President Trump still in office, is a harder question, NPR reported.
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries told NPR on Friday that the incoming majority would make tackling high prices a priority in January. "It was a tremendous victory for the American people and a strong rebuke of MAGA extremism, which has made life more expensive for everyday Americans despite their promises to lower the high cost of living on day one," he said. Lael Brainard, who leads a public policy group called The Kitchen Table Project, said Americans still expect relief quickly. "They are feeling like they are getting squeezed by high prices that don't need to be that high," she said. A September poll by the group and Global Strategy Group found nearly half of respondents said their most important goal was seeing grocery bills lowered within six months.
Democrats have talked about rolling back Trump's tariffs, which have raised the cost of imported foods and of machine parts and packaging used by the food industry, NPR reported. The Iran war pushed energy prices higher, raising transportation costs, and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz cut off a significant share of the global fertilizer trade. Farm labor shortages tied to the immigration crackdown have added pressure. Senate Democrats will not have a filibuster-proof majority, and Trump has shown little appetite to reverse those policies.
Other levers, and what states can try
"I think the president would certainly want to find ways to reduce the cost of groceries. Democrats [also] see that in their interest," said Lehigh University political scientist Chris Borick. "The mechanisms, the tools, the levers that would be most readily available to do that — there's quite a bit of distance between the president and Democrats."
Incoming Democratic senators floated other ideas on the campaign trail. James Talarico of Texas said he would push back against "attacks" on WIC and SNAP; SNAP, NPR reported, is undergoing a major overhaul by the Trump administration and has seen a precipitous drop in participation since last summer. Kansas' Adam Hamilton said he supports a national ban on "dynamic pricing" in grocery stores. Several candidates, including Roy Cooper of North Carolina, vowed to block food-industry mergers they say would raise prices.
Democrats will also hold at least 28 governorships next year, and 10 state legislative chambers flipped, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Keisha Lance Bottoms proposed letting Georgia cities suspend or eliminate local sales taxes on groceries, baby formula and diapers. Texas Gov.-elect Gina Hinojosa promised to outlaw "predatory surveillance pricing" and grocery price gouging. In New Mexico, Deb Haaland said the state would explore waiving permitting fees for markets that sell affordable food in so-called food deserts, the Albuquerque Journal reported.