The Democratic Socialists of America released a sweeping new dsa platform on July 14 called “Workers Deserve More” that proposes abolishing the U.S. Senate and replacing the presidency and Supreme Court with leaders chosen by Congress, marking a significant shift in the organization’s political agenda.
The platform aims to rebuild the country’s political institutions “from the ground up,” according to Michaela Brangan, a North New Jersey DSA member who helped draft it. DSA co-chair Ashik Siddique told C-SPAN that the Senate “was meant to serve very wealthy people who owned a lot of land and that’s still a system that we have today and it’s something we would change.”
The release comes as the organization’s political influence has grown substantially. The DSA announced in July that its membership exceeded 120,000 members, up from about 24,000 in 2017. The organization’s candidates have notched recent primary victories, including Melat Kiros in Colorado’s Democratic primary and Darializa Avila Chevalier and Claire Valdez in New York, positioning them as near-certain general election winners.
Structural Overhaul of Government
Beyond abolishing the Senate, the dsa platform calls for expanding the House of Representatives and replacing the two-party system with multi-party democracy. It proposes abolishing the Electoral College and having Congress directly elect both the president and Supreme Court justices, with those officials becoming subordinate to the legislature.
DSA co-chair Megan Romer defended the Senate abolition on Fox News, calling it an “anachronistic institution” that “comes from the British House of Lords” and was created to “protect power” and ensure “the people didn’t have too much of a say.” The platform also calls for ranked-choice voting in all elections and the elimination of lobbyists and “dark money” from politics.
The “Workers Deserve More” platform encompasses three sections: thriving working-class communities, working-class foreign policy, and working-class democracy. Beyond structural changes, it includes proposals for 32-hour work weeks, paid family leave, free healthcare and education, and public ownership of large corporations. The platform also calls for abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement and extending voting rights to all permanent residents and people with criminal convictions.
House Speaker Mike Johnson responded harshly to the platform, writing on social media that “the barbarians are inside the gate” and calling it “communism.” Other Republicans, including Texas Senator Ted Cruz, seized on the platform as evidence of Democratic extremism ahead of the November midterm elections.
Not all Democratic socialist candidates have publicly committed to every element of the platform. USA Today reached out to prominent DSA members including Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Rashida Tlaib, and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, asking whether they support the platform’s calls to abolish the Senate and Electoral College, defund the Department of War, and replace the presidency and Supreme Court. None responded to the inquiry. Valdez’s campaign declined to comment.
The platform’s release has intensified the split between progressive and moderate wings of the Democratic Party. Establishment Democrats, including former DNC chair Jaime Harrison, have pushed back against DSA candidates, with Harrison writing that those who “hate the Democratic Party” should not run for its nomination.
Sources
- The National Desk — DSA platform release details, co-chair Ashik Siddique quote on Senate, primary victories by Kiros, Avila Chevalier, and Valdez
- Washington Times — Platform title “Workers Deserve More,” Michaela Brangan drafting role, structural reform details, House Speaker Mike Johnson response
- Washington Examiner — Platform proposal to replace presidency and Supreme Court with Congress-selected officials, Michaela Brangan quote on terminology
- USA Today — DSA membership exceeding 120,000 as of July, platform details on 32-hour work weeks, paid family leave, free healthcare and education, public ownership of corporations, voting rights extensions, ICE abolition, Republican backlash from Mike Johnson and Ted Cruz, outreach to AOC, Mamdani, Tlaib
- PBS News — DSA platform proposal for new constitution, abolishing Senate and Electoral College, multi-party democracy, Megan Romer quote on Senate as “anachronistic institution,” Republican attacks, Democratic establishment pushback from Jaime Harrison
