Sen. Bernie Sanders told his party on Friday that Democrats “MUST deliver” after taking both houses of Congress, and put Medicare for All at the top of the list.
“Trumpism grew out of the failure of the Democratic Party to stand with working families. That cannot continue,” Sanders wrote on X. “At a time of unprecedented income and wealth inequality and declining faith in democracy, Democrats MUST deliver. No excuses.”
He named Medicare for All, a $20-an-hour minimum wage, the PRO Act, and “a wealth tax on billionaires, which would pay for universal childcare, free public colleges and universities, and a massive housing program.” He also called for an “AI data center moratorium,” “bringing ICE under control and comprehensive immigration reform,” and “REAL campaign finance reform.”
As an immediate first step to Medicare for All, the new Democratic Congress must lower the Medicare eligibility age to 55, cover all kids & expand Medicare for dental, vision & hearing. All of this can be passed with 51 votes in the Senate through reconciliation. Let’s do it.
— Sen. Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) November 8, 2026
Force the vote, then dare a veto
In an interview Thursday, reported by Fox News, Sanders said health care “is a human right” and that Medicare for All is “now supported by over 60% of Americans, probably 80-90% of Democrats.” He rejected waiting because President Trump might reject the bill.
“Trump has the constitutional right to veto if he wants to do it. But we have the constitutional right to represent the American people and to pass the damn thing and to show the American people that we are sick and tired of maintaining a broken system,” Sanders said.
“Donald Trump may be a bit crazy, but he is not stupid,” Sanders said. “And he is a good politician.” If the President concludes the health system is broken, he added, “I am not absolutely certain that Trump would not sign it.” Either way, “our job is to produce it.”
He is not talking about a modest tweak to premiums. He is talking about putting the government in charge of paying for American medicine and daring the President to stop it.
Cato ran the DSA platform and found that confiscating the entire net worth of the 400 richest Americans, all $6.6 trillion of it, covers about 9% of the bill. Take every dollar of corporate profit on top of that and they’re still $29 trillion short.
The price tag they will not name
After the midterms, Fox News host Martha MacCallum pressed Democratic Socialists of America co-chair Megan Romer on a White House Council of Economic Advisers estimate that DSA proposals, including Medicare for All and student debt cancellation, would cost taxpayers $49 trillion, or about $355,000 per household over the next decade. Romer called the figure a “made-up number.”
“The White House, who does not like us very much, managed to come up with some math that made us look bad,” she said. “But we don’t agree with these numbers.” Asked for her own estimate, she refused. “I’m not going to give you a solid number. That’s not what I’m here to do.” MacCallum noted that the annual U.S. defense budget is $961 billion.
Democrats will say the midterms gave them a mandate on costs, and that a president can always use the veto. A veto still has to be written, and a two-thirds override is the only way around it.
DSA Co-Chair Megan Romer confirms their platform includes: – Abolishing the Senate, presidency, & Supreme Court – Abolishing ICE, borders, & prisons – Defunding the Pentagon – Mass amnesty for illegals https://t.co/rPQiT9HCXN
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) July 26, 2026
The bottom line
Voters angry about prices did not ask for the largest entitlement expansion in American history. They asked for relief they could feel. Sanders answered with Medicare for All, a $20 wage floor, free college and a wealth tax, and he wants that pile sent to the President’s desk.
A movement that claims it can pay for this, then refuses to offer a number, is not leveling with the country. The White House estimate may be debated. Silence is not an answer.
The President should say now that he will veto Medicare for All and the rest of this wish list, and Republicans should prepare to sustain that veto. If Democrats want that argument, they should make it in the open, with a price attached.