Rhode Island’s congressional delegation prepares for more influence in Washington

U.S. Rep. Gabe Amo was an 18-year-old field organizer for Sheldon Whitehouse’s first U.S. Senate campaign in 2006 when he celebrated inside Providence’s Biltmore Hotel as Democrats won back both chambers of Congress.

Two decades later, Amo returned to the same hotel Tuesday night celebrating another Democratic takeover of Congress — one that will put him and Rhode Island’s other House member in the majority for the first time in their careers. 

“This is seismic,” Amo said in an interview outside L’Artisan Cafe in Providence’s Wayland Square Wednesday morning. 

Amo was first elected to Congress in a 2023 special election a year after his colleague, U.S. Rep. Seth Magaziner, was elected, just as Republicans were taking control of the House. 

Despite their relatively short tenures, both could find themselves among the more senior members of the House Democratic caucus next year when a large group of new Democrats arrives, Adam Myers, a political science professor at Providence College, said.

“There’s no doubt that the state’s profile on Capitol Hill will be greatly enhanced starting next year,” Myers said in a phone interview.

Magaziner said he hopes the new majority will move quickly to address voters’ concerns about the economy and the conduct of the Trump administration.

“I don’t think the message should be that Democrats won big because people love Democrats and think that we’re awesome,” Magaziner said in a phone interview. “They were trying to send the message that they expect us to bring change to Washington.”

Both of Rhode Island’s congressional representatives identified lowering costs as a priority for the incoming Democratic majority, pointing to reversing President Donald Trump’s tariffs and restoring enhanced Affordable Care Act tax credits that lapsed last year. 

“The first thing we have to do is stop the bleeding,” Amo said. “The status quo cannot exist and I’ll do everything I can to push us to a future where everybody in our country gets to live with dignity.”

Myers cautioned that delivering on the affordability agenda may prove more difficult, noting that many of the economic pressures facing voters are beyond Congress’ direct control especially as the president may veto much of the Democratic agenda.

Trump told The New York Times Tuesday he was willing to work with Democrats as they made gains across the country. But he also posted an image to his Truth Social account of a red baseball cap with the word “VETO” emblazoned on it.

“We can’t have that instability, that lack of predictability,” Amo said. “The expectation from the American people is that we deliver and I’m going to do everything to get that done.”

Magaziner sees at least one area of bipartisan agreement that Trump may not be able to stop: banning members of Congress and the president from trading stocks. He said the proposal likely has enough support to pass with a veto-proof majority.

“The momentum behind this issue is really at a fever pitch,” he said. 

More stature in the Senate

The shift in Congressional power could be even more consequential for Rhode Island’s two senators, who are among the most senior Democrats in the chamber and are expected to take the helm of influential committees.

U.S. Sen. Jack Reed, who was easily reelected to a sixth term Tuesday, told Rhode Island Current he anticipates he will reclaim the chairmanship of the Senate Armed Services Committee, where he is the top Democrat.

“We’ll have to wait for the formal vote,” he said in a phone interview. “But that’s my expectation.”

Reed said he expects the committee to conduct a broad review of the administration’s military operations in Iran and their global consequences, as well as its actions in the Caribbean, where he cited attacks on civilian vessels.

He also wants to scrutinize the administration’s financial ties to private industry, including stock purchases by officials, and reassess the threats facing the United States.

On domestic policy, Reed said Democrats should move quickly to restore the enhanced Affordable Care Act tax credits that help people buy insurance through the federal marketplace and replace funding cuts from Medicaid. He warned that the cuts could further weaken Rhode Island’s already strained health care system.

“Our health care system in Rhode Island is dysfunctional at the moment,” Reed said.

Whitehouse, who was elected to a fourth term in 2024, is expected to become chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, succeeding retiring ranking member Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, his office confirmed Wednesday.

Myers said Whitehouse’s expected chairmanship could give Rhode Island’s delegation an especially prominent role in shaping the Senate’s response to the Trump administration, particularly through the committee’s authority over federal judicial nominations.

“He’s going to be leading one of the most important committees in the Senate,” Myers said.

Rhode Island’s junior senator appears ready to use that position to challenge the Trump administration and the federal judiciary. In a statement Wednesday celebrating Democrats’ victories, Whitehouse criticized what he called a Supreme Court “captured by the billionaire class” and a Justice Department that has “gone rogue.”

“We are ready for the hard work ahead to fix what’s badly broken and set a course for a new, brighter future for the country,” Whitehouse said.