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Now that Democrats<\/span> have secured earth-shattering wins in both chambers of Congress, the party\u2019s progressives are sending a message to their more moderate leaders: It\u2019s time to deliver for voters who are demanding meaningful action.<\/p>\n \u201cEven where the candidate wasn\u2019t a self-described progressive, progressives won big last night,\u201d said Congressional Progressive Caucus Chair Greg Casar, D-Texas, during a press call on Wednesday. \u201cAcross the country, so-called moderate candidates ran on ending forever wars,\u201d he added, pointing out that Democrats went after the GOP for voting down congressional attempts<\/a> to stop<\/a> President Donald Trump\u2019s unpopular military actions \u2014 efforts that the progressive caucus had organized.<\/p>\n With comfortable majorities in both chambers \u2014 54 seats in the Senate and 237 in the House, as of 4:30 p.m. ET Wednesday \u2014 Democrats now have the legislative breathing room to deliver on their promises to reduce the cost of living, root out government corruption, and end Trump\u2019s failed war in Iran<\/a>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n But they\u2019ll have to notch these achievements under an angry lame-duck president who vowed last night \u2014 via a Truth Social post of one of his signature red hats \u2014 to wield his veto<\/a> against the new class of Democrats. The current Democratic leaders in each house of Congress, Sen. Chuck Schumer and Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, both have long track records of sparring with the left. And which of their goals will progressives prioritize when their ranks swell come January?<\/p>\n \u201cWe will have an H.R. 1 through 10 that focuses on costs and healthcare and corruption,\u201d Casar said Wednesday, referring to the first 10 House resolutions he wanted to see his party push. \u201cEvery single week, we should now be sending a bill to Donald Trump\u2019s desk that is overwhelmingly popular with the American people, that cracks down on corporate greed, that cracks down on price gouging, that cracks down on big money and politics.\u201d<\/p>\n To Will Lawrence, a co-founder of the Sunrise Movement and a former member of the Democratic Socialists of America who beat Republican incumbent Rep. Tom Barrett in a Michigan swing district on Tuesday, the Democrats\u2019 historically successful night translates into a responsibility to achieve transformative change.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s undoubtable that this was a sweeping mandate around the entire country,\u201d said Lawrence, who ran a campaign focused on his opposition to data centers<\/a>, a notoriously unpopular area<\/a> of tech development that the left has pushed Democrats to oppose.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cEvery year, we see record-breaking numbers for the most expensive races in history by the millions.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n The outsized influence of the artificial intelligence industry is another critical area for progressives to tackle, Rep. Summer Lee, D-Pa., told The Intercept. She said that she and other progressives will push legislation to end the outside influence of billionaire and super PAC money in elections, including her bills to ban super PACs and overturn the Citizens United<\/a> Supreme Court decision.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cEvery year, we see record-breaking numbers for the most expensive races in history by the millions,\u201d Lee said. \u201cIn the 120th Congress, I look forward to our party recognizing the detrimental impact of special interests and billionaire influence in our politics, whether it be from crypto or AI or AIPAC.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Other progressive priorities include passing policies like Medicare for All, ending corporate corruption, and investing in affordable housing. The ideas are tenets of the redistributive platform popularized by Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., who rallied voters across the country to \u201cfight oligarchy\u201d earlier this year and helped elevate<\/a> many of this cycle\u2019s<\/a> upstart candidates<\/a>.<\/p>\n On Wednesday, progressives did not yet seem prepared to commit to which single issue they would push for first. Asked by The Intercept about their Day-One priorities when they return to Congress, Casar said progressives planned to keep up the legislative pressure throughout the two years of the coming congressional term.<\/p>\n\n