Sunday Snapshot: Democrats do some soul-searching

1. A working-class reckoning

Sen. Bernie Sanders doubled down on his scathing take on the Democratic Party's dilemma Sunday, urging the party to recognize and prioritize the working class.

The big picture: The senator's comments come after he eviscerated the party last week, saying Vice President Harris' loss was no surprise after Democrats "abandoned" the working class.

• "We are the kitchen table, working-class party of America. And that's why we are a close call in the House right now in a year where the map is bright red across the board," former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) shot back in a New York Times interview.

Driving the news: "Democrats should be proud of standing up for women's rights and abortion rights and gay rights and civil rights, but the emphasis has to be to make it clear that we are prepared to stand with the vast majority of the people, many of whom are falling further and further behind while the people on top do phenomenally well," Sanders said on CNN's "State of the Union."

• Asked on NBC's "Meet the Press" about Pelosi's criticism, Sanders questioned, "If you're an average working person out there, do you really think that the Democratic Party is going to the mats, taking on powerful special interests and fighting for you?"
• "I think the overwhelming answer is no."

Zoom out: Post-election polling from Democratic strategy group Blueprint found that swing voters' top reason for not choosing Harris was a perception that she was "focused more on cultural issues like transgender issues rather than helping the middle class," Axios' Zachary Basu reports.

While reality depicts a strengthening economy, many Americans remain convinced it is doing worse: A belief Trump effectively harnessed ahead of November's election.

What they're saying: While some Dems have rejected Sanders' argument, others on the Sunday show circuit echoed his message that the party's pitch didn't appeal to the voters it needed most.

• "The reason we didn't win ultimately is we didn't listen enough to people on the ground ... who were saying, talk about the economy, talk about people's economic struggles," Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) said on CBS News' "Face the Nation" Sunday.
• Rep. Dean Phillips (D-Minn.), who launched an unsuccessful challenge to Biden's since-retired 2024 run, similarly lamented the party's messaging struggles: "Our product is not the real problem, our packaging, our messengers and our distribution is a real problem."
• Phillips continued: "And I think it's fair to say if you ask people what the Democratic brand stands for right now, it's real complicated."

Zoom out: Even after Biden touted himself as the most pro-union president in history, joined a picket line and invested in manufacturing jobs (and after Harris proposed tax cuts for middle-class families, among other measures directed at the working class), Trump secured that sought-after vote.

• Sanders says that's because Trump explained the reasons for their troubles, though he also criticized Trump's explanation as "bogus," saying the president-elect blamed economic hardship on "zillions of illegal immigrants coming over and ... eating your cats and dogs."
• But there was a "reason" to explain voters' struggles that resonated nonetheless, Sanders said.

2. GOP gives little clarity on Trump's mass deportation plan

Trump's team says he plans to launch the "largest mass deportation operation" of undocumented immigrants on Day 1 in office.

The bottom line: The details of how he'll take on the mammoth and costly task of deporting millions of people remain murky.

• Trump told NBC News Thursday there is "no price tag" on his plan — a statement Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), poised to be the Senate majority whip next Congress, echoed Sunday.

"I agree there's no price tag on protecting the safety and security of our country and our citizens," Barrasso told NBC's Kristen Welker on "Meet the Press."

• "President Trump is going to enforce the law, and we haven't had that over the last four years," he continued.

By the numbers: While there is no concrete total of how much Trump's lofty goal could cost, several estimates suggest that deporting just 1 million people could cost tens of billions of dollars.

• Axios reported in February that to carry out deportations, Trump would mobilize Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents — along with the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Administration, federal prosecutors, the National Guard and state and local law enforcement officers.

Zoom in: Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and other Trump allies reaffirmed Sunday the president-elect would start with "migrants here who have committed crimes."

• "How are you going to find them?" CNN's Dana Bash asked Jordan.

• "The ones who have committed crimes," Jordan repeated, highlighting the 1.3 million migrants who have already been issued removal orders.
• Bash questioned what jurisdiction would execute deportations, to which Jordan replied, "The Department of Homeland Security will work with local law enforcement."

Trump has said he'd target some 15-20 million people.

• A September report from the Center for Migration Studies estimated some 11.7 million undocumented immigrants lived in the U.S. as of July 2023.
• Asked if Dreamers shielded by former President Obama's Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program should be deported, Jordan said, "The country wants the law enforced ... that question will be addressed later on."

Zoom out: Tom Homan, the former acting ICE director, argued on Fox's "Sunday Morning Futures" the plan will be a "cost savings to the American people" and will be a "a well-targeted, planned operation conducted ... by the men of ICE."

• Trump has suggested he'd tap Homan, a contributor to Project 2025 who played a role in the Trump-era family separation policy, for his second administration.

3. Ex-Harris spokesperson stuns panel

A CNN panelist surprised the rest of the table on "State of the Union" Sunday with the idea that President Biden could hand over the rest of his term to Harris.

Driving the news: Jamal Simmons, Harris' former communications director, proposed that Biden step down "within the next 30 days" and make Harris president.

• "It would absolve her from having to oversee the January 6th transition, right, of her own defeat," Simmons added. "It would dominate the news, at a point where Democrats have to learn, drama and transparency and doing things the public want to see."

What they're saying: The suggestion shocked both the show's host Dana Bash and several fellow commentators.

• "Okay, this has now jumped from an internet meme to a Sunday morning show," Bash said after Simmons finished his explanation.
• Scott Jennings, who also sat on the panel, joked that Simmons was writing a season of the Netflix political drama "House of Cards."

Zoom in: Simmons continued his thoughts in a thread posted to X.

• "Dems have better policies but we must realize the old rules no longer apply. We are not playing table tennis. We are in a mixed martial arts fight and Americans respond to drama and excitement. We should use that to make our arguments for a better path forward," he wrote.

Reality check: There is no evidence or indication from Biden or the White House that he would leave office early.

Read more from Axios' Sunday coverage:

• Rep. Dean Phillips tears into fellow Democrats over 2024 loss
• Bernie Sanders says calls for Sotomayor to step down are not "sensible"
• Netanyahu says he spoke three times with Trump in recent days
• Rubio throws weight behind Rick Scott for GOP leader