New York Democrats are planning on focusing on issues that propelled President-elect Donald Trump to victory, such as immigration, public safety and inflation when the legislative session begins Wednesday, Politico reported.
"This is a different time and it's a different circumstance," New York Democratic Chair Jay Jacobs said to Politico. "You have to read the room. Voters are not looking for either party to engage in personal attacks and the like. They're looking for results."
Since Trump's election, Gov. Kathy Hochul, who faces low approval ratings, has focused on cost-of-living issues, like sending New Yorkers a $500 rebate check and expanding a child tax credit. She also recently visited a grocery store to highlight inflation.
As crime on the subway continues to make headlines, Hochul has proposed measures to improve safety on mass transit and has advocated making it easier for people with severe mental illnesses to be involuntarily hospitalized, Politico reported.
"I did not need the November elections to tell me affordability and public safety are the number one and two concerns," she said to reporters. "I will do it independent of elections, it's the right thing to do. People are hurting right now, and we cannot be tone deaf as a party, as a nation or a state to those cries for help."
While Democrats may be aligned with some of Trump's policies, his immigration czar Tom Homan has floated blocking cars with New York plates from reentering the U.S. from Canada unless the state does not change a law that allows undocumented immigrants to receive driver's licenses, Politico reported.
Hochul called his proposal "bizarre."
While Vice President Kamala Harris won New York comfortably in the presidential election, it was the smallest margin of victory for a Democrat presidential candidate since 1988.
Republicans also broke the Democrats' supermajority in the state senate, despite losing three House seats.
"I'm not here to play defense, I'm not here to just have rhetorical debates on issues," Democrat state Sen. Pat Fahy said to Politico. "I'm here to focus on the concrete."
Sam Barron ✉
Sam Barron has almost two decades of experience covering a wide range of topics including politics, crime and business.
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