Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand told reporters that in last week’s so-called blue tsunami, Americans across the country rejected President Donald Trump’s "cost-increasing chaos.” She said lowering those costs will start with ending the war in Iran, then reining in Trump’s tariffs.
"Trump’s trade wars have driven up the costs of just about everything, from groceries to construction materials to clothing," she said in a video press conference. "With a Democratic Senate majority, we can pass legislation to end the Trump tariff tax and refund Americans for duties they have already paid."
Gillibrand said she and her fellow Democrats are also focused on lowering health care costs, which includes restoring Medicaid funding. Under the president’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act, changes to the program are expected to boot millions off their insurance. She said she also wants to lower health care premiums and boost access to lifesaving care.
Gillibrand said that as incoming chair of the Senate Aging Committee, she's also focused on protecting Social Security via a bill to extend the program’s solvency by "making billionaires finally pay their fair share.” The senator additionally called for guardrails for artificial intelligence.
"Democrats and Republicans must come together to build an AI framework that restricts the use of AI in health care denials, shields consumers from AI-driven scams, and prevents the deployment of offensive autonomous weapons without human approval."
Gillibrand said the last of her big priorities is cracking down on corruption in the Trump administration. She said that starts with making it illegal for the president, vice president, cabinet officials, and members of Congress to trade stocks, and from issuing or advocating for any cryptocurrencies.
How much Democrats will actually be able to accomplish legislatively depends on the leader of their opposition party: President Donald Trump. Gillibrand said he could fight their agenda and veto bills altogether.
"But it’s hard—he’s still president for two more years so he’s going to keep his mischief up and continue to try to fight us on things we know that the American people have asked for," she said. "They’ve asked for change. This was a change election. President Trump, if he dares to stand against passed legislation, woe be the Republicans in ‘28."
A big topic for Democrats heading into the next Congress is who will lead their new congressional majorities. Gillibrand said she supports fellow New York Sen. Chuck Schumer’s continued leadership of the Senate Democratic caucus. She credited him with leading the effort to help Democratic candidates get across the finish line in the midterms.
"He really helped to keep the caucus aligned on message and what we were bringing to the American people and helping these candidates deliver," she said. "So I think people have a lot of gratitude toward Sen. Schumer and I think he’ll win any majority leader race he has."
Gillibrand spoke earlier this week, before Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen announced Thursday that he would run for Majority Leader.
Gillibrand also shared her thoughts on the outcome of the race to represent New York’s 21st Congressional District. Gillibrand had predicted that St. Lawrence County farmer Blake Gendebien would flip the district blue. According to unofficial tallies, he narrowly lost to his Republican opponent, Sticker Mule CEO Anthony Constantino, by two points.
Gillibrand said she hopes Gendebien will run again.
"I thought he was a terrific candidate," she said. "He came within 5,000 votes. It is a deeply red district. He ran a brilliant campaign. I have a lot of faith that he will be in Congress someday."
Gillibrand was asked if she's willing to work with Constantino, who will join her as a member of New York's congressional delegation.
"I will always work with members of our delegation on a bipartisan basis to get good things done for New York," she said.
