House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) said the Democrats would prioritize new gun control legislation and protecting illegal immigrants if they regain control of the House of Representatives after the midterms next month.
Democrats will look to pass a gun background check bill and protect Dreamers, undocumented immigrants brought to the United States as children, Pelosi told Politico. She also said the Democrats would try to pass campaign finance reform and lower drug prices.
Pelosi is actively campaigning and fundraising on behalf of Democratic congressional candidates. In the third quarter of 2018, she will report raising over $30 million for the party's candidates.
The house minority leader is also preparing to return to the role of speaker of the House, a position she held from 2007 to 2011. Although her bid to become speaker has faced resistance from some House Democrats clamoring for new leadership, Pelosi appears to have solidified the support of her caucus, Politico notes.
Rep. Adam Schiff (D., Calif.) has listed five investigations the Democrats would launch if they win the House, saying they "will need to ruthlessly prioritize the most important matters first."
Schiff wants to investigate whether the Russians have financial leverage over President Donald Trump. In the House Judiciary Committee, Schiff said Democrats will look into "abuse of the pardon power, attacks on the rule of law, and campaign finance violations."
Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D., N.Y.), the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, suggested before Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh was confirmed that the committee would investigate him for "any credible allegation, certainly of perjury and other things that haven’t been properly looked into before."
Nadler reiterated the idea Democrats would investigate Kavanaugh after the FBI concluded its investigation into allegations of sexual assault.
Democrats are expected to gain in the House, although it remains to be seen whether they will take control. FiveThirtyEight gives Democrats a greater than 80 percent chance to retake that chamber, with an average gain of 40 seats in its polling model. The Cook Political Report lists 48 seats as toss ups, although only three of those are currently controlled by Democrats.
CBS estimates Democrats will win 226 seats of the total 435, but cautions that the margin of error for this estimate is plus or minus 14 seats. In one CBS polling model, Democrats end up with 235 seats, while a different model shows Republicans with 218 seats, enough for the narrowest of majorities.