what’s at stake
It’s an age-old axiom in Washington: Don’t expect bipartisan dealmaking in an election year.
As the 2026 midterms draw closer, there are already signs that sparse work across the aisle will shrink further as Republicans and Democrats divert their attention to the campaign trail.
Still, some optimists see a path forward on issues that aren’t entirely partisan or where there’s enough pressure from US voters to get something done.
The issue of rising health care costs, in particular, has triggered a spirited debate about whether a failed vote on extending enhanced Obamacare subsidies can lead to some kind of bipartisan compromise.
who’s making the case
Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., argued at Semafor’s Architects of the New Economy event this week that there are myriad issues where Republicans and Democrats could find common ground:
“I think that there is a bipartisan majority to be had on so many of these issues. The minimum wage — I think we ought to raise the minimum wage. I think we could do that with Democrat support and some Republican support. I think we want to cap prescription drugs, their prices. We could do that with Democrat support and Republican support. I think we ought to pass new labor legislation. We could do that with Democrat support and Republican support.
“I think there’s a wide-open lane, right down the middle there, and I don’t mean so much the middle ideologically. It’s the middle of the country, where the country is in terms of wanting results that will work for working families.
“If you’re the Dems, I think it’s really tempting to think, ‘Well, Republicans have gotten themselves wrapped around the axle, the congressional Republicans at least, and so whether it’s health care, whether it’s wages, let’s just sit back and see what happens.’ But I just think of so many of my colleagues on the Democrat side of the aisle who want to get things done, who are problem solvers, and who are really committed to helping people. And I think if you said to those folks, ‘We’ve got a chance to pass something that the president would sign — on minimum wage increase, prescription drugs’ — I think they’d take it.”
White House deputy chief of staff James Blair said at the same event that congressional Democrats aren’t interested in working with Republicans on health care or other issues:
“If they come to the table and want to have a real discussion, but putting up a three-year extension vote in the Senate is not any attempt at negotiation. That’s sending a clear message — it says we’re not going to negotiate, we want this to fail, and we want to campaign against you on it. It is very clear.
“Democrats are not interested in accomplishing anything in this Congress. That’s what they’ve shown us every step of the way. The lack of [unanimous consent] confirmations in the Senate says, ‘We are going to try to obstruct this administration’ … We have to fight against that obstructionism. I think the key is to just keep doing things, keep kicking the door down, and ultimately giving people something to vote for.”
Discussing cryptocurrency legislation, Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., said there is meaningful bipartisan work happening, but warned against the possibility of partisan tensions overtaking the debate:
“I think people are working in good faith … [but] if there’s an effort to try to bum-rush a partisan-only markup, it will be a mess. Because again, you can’t do it partisan.”
“I’ve never seen an issue that is more intellectually challenging and that both teams had been working in good faith for hours and hours on end. And there are … wide segments of the bill that my Republican friends are saying, ‘We can’t sign off on that until we get White House approval.’ So, I think we’ll get there.”