Democrats just won both chambers of Congress in the 2026 midterm elections, and Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) is not wasting any time spending the political capital. In a post on X on Tuesday, he laid out an ambitious progressive wish list: Medicare for All, a $25 living wage, higher taxes on billionaires, an end to the Iran War, and "Zero aid Israel."
His framing was blunt: "When we win, we need America's next New Deal." And he closed with a line that sounds like it was written for a campaign banner: "Make Trump Hoover if he vetoes it." The reference, of course, is to Herbert Hoover, the president who got blamed for the Great Depression. Khanna is essentially daring Trump to play that role.
The post included a video of Khanna's Tuesday appearance on MS NOW's program with host Peter Alexander.
Put It on His Desk and See What Happens
In that interview, Alexander asked Khanna a practical question: how do Democrats manage voters' expectations for quick improvements if they regain control of Congress, especially with President Donald Trump still in the White House and able to block their proposals?
Khanna's answer was essentially: pass it anyway and make him decide.
"Let's pass a living wage. Let's pass Medicare for all. Let's pass free child care," Khanna said. He also called for ending the war in Iran, ending aid and military sales to Israel, and funding 1,000 new trade schools and free college.
The strategy is simple. Democrats pass the agenda through the House and Senate and send it to Trump's desk. If he signs it, Americans get the benefits. If he vetoes it, Khanna argued, it could set the stage for "a new bold progressive era for our nation." Either way, Democrats get a message to run on.
The Iran War and Your Grocery Bill
Khanna has also been making a pocketbook argument for ending the Iran War. In a separate Fox News interview, he said ending the conflict could bring down gasoline, diesel, and food prices. That's a pitch aimed squarely at voters who may not follow foreign policy closely but definitely notice what they pay at the pump and the checkout counter.
The Billionaire Math
On taxes, Khanna has previously argued that wealth concentration among billionaires warrants higher taxation. He has said about 900 billionaires hold wealth equivalent to 22% of U.S. gross domestic product, and he proposed a tax that he said could raise $4 trillion over 10 years.
Where would that money go? Khanna said the revenue could support free childcare, public college and trade schools, and expanded Medicare coverage. It's the same list he's now pushing as part of his post-midterm agenda, just with a fresh mandate behind it.
Whether any of this actually becomes law depends on the same thing it always does: whether Democrats can hold their coalition together and whether Trump wants to sign or veto. Khanna, for one, seems perfectly happy to find out.
