We're almost 18 months away from the 2026 midterm elections, and it tends to be that the party of the president in power loses seats. While we saw this in 2022, when Republicans gained back control of the House when then-President Joe Biden was in office, a red wave never materialized. Republicans even lost a seat in the Senate, with former Sen. Pat Toomey (R-PA), who was retiring, being replaced by now Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA). Perhaps this trend could help Republicans for President Donald Trump's second term. Internal polls show that Republicans are in a better place than they were at this time in 2017 for the 2018 midterms during Trump's first term. There's also how Democrats really aren't helping themselves, least of all when it comes to what legislation they've decided to prioritize.
In February, as we covered at the time, far-left Squad members introduced legislation on reparations. Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) was the bill's sponsor, with fellow Squad member Rep. Summer Lee (D-PA) also making headlines for her remarks.
Democrat Rep. Summer Lee labels President Trump a “white supremacist” while demanding “repatriations.”
— Oli London (@OliLondonTV) February 12, 2025
“White supremacy is rampant in this county, just look at the current Administration…they have contributed to racial terror.”
pic.twitter.com/DpdmfWVyki
Three months later, Squad members are introducing a reparations bill yet again. They're taking up the mantle from former Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO), who had been a member of the Squad while in Congress, and who was in attendance. "While attempts to whitewash, obstruct, and deny Black history are made, we must fight the white supremacy rampant in our country, against the rising authoritarianism, and not allow anyone to deny Black folks the ability to survive and to thrive. I thank former Congresswoman Bush for passing on the torch for this resolution and urge my colleagues to pass it without delay," Lee said, giving a shout out to her former colleague.
The anti-Israel congresswoman lost her primary last August to now Rep. Wesley Bell, who is much more of a pro-Israel Democrat. Her statement about this bill reminds us just how radical she was. "Today we say what too many are too afraid to say: Reparations Now. For over 400 years, this country has profited off the stolen labor, stolen land, and stolen lives of Black people, and every day that we fail to repair the harm, we compound it. Until there is repair, there will be no justice, and where there is no justice, we will continue to fight," she communicated.
Lee and Pressley aren't the only Squad members involved. Reps. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) and Ilhan Omar (D-MN) are also mentioned in a press release from Lee's office. Statements from these members echoed a sense of fierce entitlement and a grim view of the United States, a country where they not only live, but are lucky enough to serve in Congress.
"By following through on our promise to provide reparations, Congress can begin to address the racial wealth gap, end the decades of disinvestment in communities of color, and dismantle the racist systems that have oppressed our Black neighbors for far too long," Tlaib is quoted as saying.
Just as she made outrageous remarks back in February, Pressley is back at it again. "Congress has a duty – an obligation – to confront past wrongs and address the centuries of enslavement, violence, and discrimination against Black people. With Donald Trump and Republicans waging a coordinated, all-out assault on Black communities, we must advance an affirmative agenda for Black America," she claimed. "We are in a moment of anti-Blackness on steroids, and we will not back down in our pursuit of reparative justice."
Lee furthered that sense of entitlement with a post from her X account on Friday. "Some folks like to frame the debate around reparations as black folks simply complaining about wrongs done in a distant past to our ancestors, that nobody today is guilty of. But we know that's not just ahistorical, it's ignoring the reality of today," she claimed. As she shared a list of societal ills, Lee continued with how "the harms done to enslaved Africans and subsequently their descendants for generations to follow are innumerable, but they are well-documented, traceable, and persistent."
"Reparations are a proposal to level the playing field," Lee went on to reveal, before she mentioned that not even this proposal would be enough, adding, "but the only way we could ever have a level playing field is by remedying the harms that have been done by the system, so we need real, concrete action." She went on to not only demand that "we need reparations," but claim that "it is a moral obligation, the debt that this country owes."
Calling reparations ‘complaints about the past’ is not just ahistorical — it ignores the government-sanctioned injustices that persist today.
— Rep. Summer Lee (@RepSummerLee) May 16, 2025
Black America is owed repair, restitution, and justice. pic.twitter.com/Xkg19ku1mQ
As the press release also mentioned:
WASHINGTON, D.C. – May 15, 2025 — Today, Congresswoman Summer L. Lee (PA-12) led her colleagues in reintroducing the Reparations Now Resolution to call on the federal government to provide reparations to the descendants of enslaved Black families. The resolution seeks to advance federal reparations, support existing reparatory justice efforts such as H.R. 40, and provide further momentum to reparations efforts at the state and local levels.
The resolution was introduced at a press conference earlier today with Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib (MI-12), Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07), and a coalition of advocates. Former Congresswoman Cori Bush, who initially introduced the resolution, was also in attendance. The Members were joined by Dreisen Heath of Reparations Strategist and Founder of Why We Can’t Wait Reparations Coalition, Miya Iwataki of Nikkei for Civil Rights & Redress/Nikkei Progressives, Chelsea Higgs Wise, Executive Director of Marijuana Justice, Robin Rue Simmons of First Repair, Kyle Bibby, Co-CEO and Co-Founder of Black Veterans Project, and Marcus Anthony Hunter, Author, Radical Reparations: Healing the Soul of a Nation.
These members also spoke about the bill at a press conference that day, with the congresswomen making abundantly clear how alarming their legislation is in who qualifies. Under the bill, all black people qualify for reparations, even wealthier ones. One also does not have to have had any slave ancestry.
During the Q&A period, Lee made clear it's "all black Americans." Even those who find themselves in the middle class qualify, as "they are still and they were able to do that despite the harms, despite the past injustices done to them, so they are not excluded from the reparations and the remedies therein."
Despite a legitimate question being asked about who qualifies, Lee claimed that examining whether someone was actually a descendent of slaves is "a debate that is used to try to silence the rest of this movement" and "is a distraction tactic." Even just black people "living today" qualify because they are, as Lee put it, "still harmed."
Rep. Summer Lee clarifies:
— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) May 16, 2025
Black people do not need to have any slave ancestry to qualify for slavery reparations
Black millionaires qualify too pic.twitter.com/5jeSGuv7qM
The idea of reparations has been considered or at least talked about in bright blue states such as California, New York, and Maryland. Yet has anything come out of these bills?
Over the weekend, however, Gov. Wes Moore (D-MD) and his state made headlines for how he vetoed the idea for reparations. The veto came on Friday, the day after Lee introduced her federal reparations bill. The veto even earned praise from Republicans, such as Del. Matt Morgan.
The Washington Post played up in its headline how Moore is "the nation’s lone Black governor."
Winning! I want to thank Governor Wes Moore for vetoing the bill to set up a Reparations Tax. pic.twitter.com/TcSMJs6rpC
— Matt Morgan (@MattMorgan29A) May 16, 2025
Wes Moore, black governor of Maryland, vetoes bill for the state to study reparations, angering Democrats in the legislature. A black candidate willing to triangulate against woke and identity politics is exactly what Democrats need right now. pic.twitter.com/SwlBd94yKG
— Richard Hanania (@RichardHanania) May 17, 2025
Bush came off as unhinged for this and many more reasons when she was in Congress, and her constituents ultimately voted her out. Lee faced a primary challenger last year as well, but ultimately hung onto her seat. While the Squad members represent reliably bright blue districts, just as is the case with another far-left member of Congress, Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX), that doesn't mean they're helping their party, especially for the upcoming midterms, when control of Congress could once more hinge on narrow margins. This is going on as Democrats already face catastrophic poll numbers, though as Townhall has been covering, Trump's numbers are meanwhile improving.
Returning once more to the conversation of midterms, it's not merely internal polls, such as from the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), that show Republicans could actually do all right. Decision Desk HQ, one of those tracking improvements for Trump, also noted improvements for others in his administration, as well as Republicans overall, including for the midterms. Democrats and Republicans are now essentially tied on the generic ballot for midterms, at 44.7 and 44.6 percent, respectively.
A look at our polling averages shows a second consecutive positive week for the Trump administration and Republicans by and large. Presidential approval and candidate favorabilities all swung in a positive direction, and Democrats and Republicans are now virtually tied on the… pic.twitter.com/pyD8Cut3Ec
— Decision Desk HQ (@DecisionDeskHQ) May 14, 2025
