What Will Democratic Governance Look Like? + Lina Khan (Crooked Con)

What It Covers

Pod Save America hosts a live Crooked Con discussion with Senators Brian Schatz and Ruben Gallego, plus Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal, examining Democratic governance strategy for potential 2026 majorities. FTC Chair Lina Khan joins to discuss antitrust enforcement, corporate power, and consumer protection. Lawmakers debate eliminating the filibuster, prioritizing affordability legislation, and whether Democrats should match Republican hardball tactics on gerrymandering and institutional norms.

Key Questions Answered

• •Senate Majority Viability: Democrats have roughly the same statistical chance of taking the Senate in 2026 as they did before the Ossoff-Warnock Georgia victories that delivered the majority. Maine and North Carolina represent favored pickups, with multiple additional pathways emerging after recent electoral wins. Recruitment of strong candidates has accelerated following Tuesday's victories, creating renewed optimism about flipping seats previously considered out of reach, including potential opportunities in Iowa where voters express frustration over agricultural markets, healthcare cuts, and economic conditions.
• •Filibuster Elimination Consensus: All three lawmakers agree eliminating the Senate filibuster must be the first priority if Democrats regain power. Republicans have already modified filibuster rules twice for their priorities, including budget reconciliation and judicial nominations. The filibuster prevents minimum wage increases from the current $7.25 federal level, blocks voting rights legislation, and forces Democrats into procedural explanations that voters reject. The rule benefits Republican obstruction while preventing Democrats from delivering on popular policies like affordable childcare, housing, and healthcare that poll well across party lines.
• •Minimum Wage First Priority: Senator Gallego proposes passing a $20 per hour federal minimum wage indexed to inflation as the immediate first legislative action. This approach brands Democrats as the party of working people, forces Republicans to vote against popular wage increases, and addresses cost-of-living concerns that drove recent election results. Universal programs that help families making $80,000-$100,000 annually prove more politically durable than means-tested benefits with arbitrary cutoffs at 400% of poverty level, which exclude struggling middle-class families in high-cost areas.
• •Simplicity Over Complexity: The Build Back Better agenda failed partly because Democrats combined too many programs into complicated packages requiring reconciliation procedures. Direct cash payments during COVID proved most effective and memorable for constituents, not complex tax credits or delayed infrastructure projects. Future legislation should be self-executing, require no Administrative Procedures Act implementation, deliver immediate tangible benefits, and avoid creating new bureaucratic programs. Speed of delivery matters more than comprehensiveness when voters judge whether government works for them.
• •Corporate Power Concentration Threat: Lina Khan warns that concentrated corporate power enables authoritarian control, as demonstrated when major tech CEOs bent to Trump administration pressure rather than defending democratic norms. When markets have only four to five dominant players instead of dozens of competitors, autocrats need only convince a handful of executives to comply. The Trump administration reversed FTC rules requiring easy subscription cancellations, eliminated noncompete clause restrictions affecting fast food workers and security guards, and killed the DirectFile tax program that let citizens avoid paying TurboTax fees.
• •Surveillance Pricing Danger: Companies increasingly use personal data to charge individualized prices based on what they calculate each consumer can afford, not market rates. FTC investigations found firms explicitly discussing charging just below customers' pain points. Airlines could theoretically scan email for funeral announcements and raise ticket prices, or families with nut allergies could pay more for allergen-free products. Rideshare companies already increase prices when detecting low phone batteries, assuming desperate customers will pay more. This represents unprecedented potential for exploitation beyond traditional dynamic pricing.
• •Accountability Before Unity: Democrats must prioritize delivering material improvements in housing, childcare, and healthcare costs over abstract democracy reforms in their opening legislative agenda. However, structural reforms including Voting Rights Act restoration, gerrymandering elimination, and Supreme Court expansion remain essential and cannot wait until year two. Democrats should match Republican tactics on gerrymandering and institutional hardball until norms normalize, then restore fair systems once in power. The party cannot unilaterally disarm while Republicans gerrymander districts and refuse to seat elected Democratic representatives.