Hillary Clinton has some advice for Democrats heading into their new congressional majority: get something done. The former secretary of state told listeners on the podcast High Stakes that her party should prioritize passing legislation when the new Congress convenes in January, saying Democrats need to "put some points on the board," according to the Washington Examiner.
Clinton, who lost the 2016 presidential election to Donald Trump, made the comments alongside co-host Kara Swisher, a technology journalist. The podcast appearance comes after Democrats secured victories in this week's midterm elections, giving them control of both the House and the Senate for the first time since 2014.
The advice might sound reasonable on its face. But it lands awkwardly from a figure whose own political legacy is defined by a shocking Electoral College defeat to the man she's now implicitly criticizing, and whose party's activist base is demanding scorched-earth resistance rather than legislative achievement.
House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries, in line to become speaker, said the caucus will focus on healthcare and legislation to stop the war with Iran, according to ABC News. Democrats also plan to try reversing some of Trump's trade tariffs and the Medicaid changes in the One Big Beautiful Bill signed into law last year.
There's just one problem: none of it is likely to become law. The Senate's 60-vote threshold looms, and Trump has made clear he's ready with his veto pen. The president posted a photo of a red hat on election night with a simple message: "VETO."
Clinton's comments also come as her party faces an internal divide between its moderate wing and the Democratic Socialists of America-aligned candidates heading to Congress, a split The Cook Political Report's Erin Covey noted could complicate governing.
The former first lady has been more visible in recent weeks, engaging in a social media spat with Trump over a comment he made about her house. But her influence within the party remains a matter of debate. Clinton is a lightning rod for Republicans and a reminder of the 2016 loss that many Democrats would rather forget.
Her advice to focus on legislation may be intended as a pragmatic call, but it ignores the reality of a divided government and a president who has shown no interest in signing Democratic bills. It also ignores the mood of the party's grassroots, which has spent the last decade demanding resistance.
Our Take
Hillary Clinton telling Democrats to "put some points on the board" is rich coming from the woman who couldn't close the deal against the most beatable Republican candidate in modern history. But let's take her advice at face value for a moment. What exactly does she think Democrats are going to pass with a Republican White House and a president who just posted a "VETO" hat on election night?
The truth is that Clinton's advice isn't really about legislating. It's about optics. Democrats know they can't actually enact their agenda, so they'll pass symbolic bills in the House, watch them die in the Senate, and then campaign on Republican obstruction. It's a playbook as old as Washington itself. The problem for them is that Trump and the GOP have gotten very good at winning the messaging war. Every veto becomes a fundraising email. Every failed vote becomes a campaign ad.
Meanwhile, the American people are watching. They elected Democrats to Congress in part because of frustration over costs and the war in Iran, not because they wanted a legislative wish list that has no chance of becoming law. If Democrats spend the next two years passing bills that go nowhere, they'll have plenty of points on the board in their own minds, but voters might not see it that way.
Clinton should know better than anyone that winning the popular vote doesn't matter if you can't win where it counts. Welcome to divided government, Hillary. The only points that matter are the ones Trump scores when he vetoes your party's bills.
