Dem
51
GOP
49
Are you curious about what either party would do if it got a functional, working national trifecta and could carry out its program without having to negotiate with, or even talk to, the other party (or recalcitrant members of its own party)? Look no further than what the states with trifectas are doing. Then just imagine the same thing, but nationally.
In Florida, the legislature has passed laws that stigmatize LGBTQ+ people in public schools and have driven professors out of state. In Oklahoma, the legislature has banned the use of nonbinary gender identifications on birth certificates. In Tennessee, the legislature has forbidden officials from changing the sex on birth certificates. In Arkansas, the legislature has forbidden gender-affirming care for minors. In Texas, the legislature went further and has defined gender-affirming care for minors as child abuse. Numerous red state legislatures have banned nearly all abortions. Other red states have passed laws intended to make voting more difficult (e.g., prohibit most people from getting an absentee ballot or preventing workers at a nursing home from collecting ballots from residents and bringing them to a drop box). And (racial) gerrymandering is rampant. It doesn't take much imagination to see a President Donald Trump and a Republican Congress trying to enact all of these and much more nationally.
Now the blue states. In January, Michigan got a Democratic trifecta. What have the Democrats done there? They passed a law automatically registering all felons to vote upon release from prison unless they locate, fill in, and send back a form saying that they don't want to be registered. Another law allows 16-year-olds to preregister so they can vote in the first election that occurs after their 18th birthday. Yet another law increases the penalties for intimidating or harassing election workers. Still other laws increase the state's earned-income tax credit, expand protections for LGBTQ+ people, repeal the state's (anti-union) right-to-work law, and legalize abortion. In Minnesota, the Democrats mandated paid family and medical leave, barred employers from holding anti-union captive audience meetings, strengthened workplace protections, curtailed wage theft, and provided free breakfast and lunch to all children in the Minnesota public schools. Maryland Democrats raised the minimum wage to $15/hr, expanded tax credits for low-income residents, limited where firearms may be carried, and protected abortion rights.
Again, these states provide a model of things national Democrats could do if they get a working trifecta. Winning the House might be relatively easy, but holding the Senate would be tough. It would require Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) to be elected to the Senate in Arizona and the Democrats defending all of their seats that are up this year (except the hopeless seat in West Virginia). This plus a Democratic vice president would give the Democrats control of the Senate. Then they would have to abolish or restrict the filibuster. For example, they could require a Jimmy-Stewart-type talking filibuster that would test the physical stamina of Republican senators. It is unlikely that many senators could stand in the well of the Senate and talk for even 12 consecutive hours without food, drink, or bathroom breaks. Then after 3½ weeks of hot air, (omnibus) bills could be voted on and passed. (V)