Democratic Congressman calls on his party to work with Trump

Rep. Tom Suozzi, D-N.Y., rang in the new year with a New York Times guest essay urging fellow Democratic lawmakers to drop the resistance movement and work with President-elect Donald Trump in his second term.

In his piece, the congressman admitted that the results of the 2024 election reveal that voters want the Democratic Party to compromise on major issues, like the economy and immigration, rather than stonewalling Trump’s agenda as they did during his first term.

“As a Democratic member of Congress, I know my party will be tempted to hold fast against Mr. Trump at every turn: uniting against his bills, blocking his nominees and grinding the machinery of the House and the Senate to a halt. That would be a mistake,” he declared.

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Suozzi, who was elected to New York’s 3rd Congressional District earlier this year after it was vacated by former GOP Rep. George Santos, admitted he is wary of Trump’s willingness to compromise with Democratic lawmakers, citing some of the former president’s behavior following the election.

“I’m no dupe: Some of Mr. Trump’s actions offer little reassurance that he is ready to embrace the bipartisanship and compromise essential to a functioning democracy,” he said, pointing to the incoming president’s “radical cabinet picks,” his demands for the recent government spending bill, and his “hubris” in bringing businessmen and advisers Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy around Capitol Hill.

Suozzi advised that Trump needs to “to embrace his inner dealmaker and negotiate with the other party that holds just shy of half of the seats on Capitol Hill and key governorships around the country,” adding that if Trump does that, “Democrats should meet him halfway rather than be the Party of No.”

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The lawmaker went on to denounce his party’s “significant leftward shift,” and mentioned that both sides of the aisle want to work together. “But as a common-sense Democrat who won in a district that Mr. Trump also won, I am certain our closely divided electorate would rather have bipartisan solutions than political gridlock.”

He acknowledged the notion that Trump’s win was a “mandate” from the American people, but clarified it wasn’t one “for one-party rule.”

“But as I see it, the results of the 2024 campaign were a mandate for border security, immigration reform, low inflation, economic stability and common ground on culture-war fights,” he argued.

He continued by offering examples of what Democratic compromises could look like, starting with climate change. He said, “Democrats cannot abandon our zeal to combat climate change. At the same time, let’s balance our commitment to environmental protection with pragmatic measures that safeguard affordable utility bills and manageable costs at the pump.”

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“Let’s move beyond the relentless attacks on widely held religious values while ensuring that the rights, safety and dignity of all are upheld,” Suozzi said, and admitted that liberals should embrace “efforts to make government more efficient and effective,” as long as they still defend “the strengthening of Social Security, Medicare and the Affordable Care Act.”

Suozzi said his New Year’s resolution was to rise above partisanship and arguing while embracing “common sense.”