Democrats target Trump's affordability crisis
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House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is working with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries to develop a coordinated strategy to make the 2026 election a referendum on affordability.
Why it matters: Making America affordable again (you could call it MAAA) will run through nearly every part of their effort to draw a sharp contrast between their economic plans and President Trump's record.
- The goal is to isolate — and amplify — the affordability issue at nearly every turn.
Driving the news: Eleven months from Election Day, Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Jeffries (D-N.Y.) met Thursday to fine-tune their coordinated strategy.
- Schumer then relayed the plan to senators in a closed-door meeting, urging them to focus on the affordability crisis — as Axios scooped on Thursday.
- Schumer wants lawmakers to push legislation aimed at lowering costs in four areas: health care, housing, food and energy.
- He also tasked senators with forming working groups to drill into each policy area.
The intrigue: Schumer and Jeffries watched the crushing weight of inflation under former President Biden drag down their party in 2024.
- Now they're seizing on nearly every negative inflation data point as proof that Trump isn't focused on Americans who are struggling.
The other side: White House officials know they have a political problem and insist relief is coming.
- Last month, Trump lifted reciprocal tariffs on several grocery staples, including coffee, tea and beef. Officials also tout low gas prices and insist prices are leveling off.
- But Trump has also dismissed Democrats' focus on cost-of-living issues, saying on Tuesday that affordability is a "con job" and "doesn't mean anything to anybody."
Zoom out: Earlier this year, Schumer and Jeffries began discussing how to build a unified message ahead of the midterms, initially centered on a populist attack on Trump's tax cuts.
- Their goal has always been to seize on the right messaging opportunities — not every possible one.
- They meet at least once during each work period to help coordinate their strategy, according to a House aide.
Zoom in: A short-term spending fight in March exposed differences between the two leaders' approaches to government funding.
- Senate Democrats, including Schumer, supplied Republicans the votes needed to keep the government open — enraging House Democrats.
- Schumer and Jeffries then held a somewhat rare Sunday meeting for an "honest conversation," according to one senior Democrat.
- But after the November government shutdown, Jeffries gave Schumer his full support — even amid a fresh wave of anger directed at the Senate leader.
The bottom line: The Democrats' goal is to convince incumbents and challengers to run on a message that's easy to tout — and difficult for Republicans to flout.
