Coons expects congressional scrutiny of billionaires and weighs a Hegseth conviction
Democratic Sen. Chris Coons told NPR host Leila Fadel that lowering costs for working people should be Democrats’ first priority after the midterms, beginning his agenda with: “But the first thing we need to do is to make it clear we are focused on lowering costs for working people.” Coons won reelection in Delaware. In the NPR interview published November 9, he said Democrats would try to work with President Trump, adding, “We will try. We have to get caught trying.”
Coons said Democrats needed to make clear they had heard the American people who elected what he called the “dramatic new majority.” He said the party would have won seats in states like Texas, Kansas and Mississippi, where there had not been a Democrat in decades. He listed ending the war in Iran, restraining Trump’s tariff power, ending tariffs against close allies such as Canada and Mexico, and holding accountable those who had led to what he called terrible decisions. Lowering costs, Coons said, came first.
Coons’s proposed test of cooperation was conditional. He said if Democrats sent Trump “a simple bill that says, here are, for example, tax cuts for housing, healthcare, daycare,” a veto or refusal would make it Democrats’ first priority for 2029. If Trump signed it, Coons said, the two sides had found a way to work together. Coons framed the housing, health care and daycare tax cuts as examples of what such a simple bill might contain.
Coons identified December 11 as the first deadline facing the new majority, when lawmakers had to reach agreement on spending to keep the government open. He expected spending on the war in Iran to be at the top of the disagreements. When Fadel said little might get done, Coons replied, “That’s a real risk.” During the interview, Coons said he had spoken with several Republican senators “yesterday” about areas where they could work together. If the White House saw bills authored and shaped by both parties on immigration and spending, Coons thought Trump might sign them in some cases.
Coons said Trump had already acknowledged things that had led to sweeping Republican defeats. On “60 Minutes” over the weekend, Trump said immigration enforcement was “too tough, too aggressive,” then appointed Stephen Miller as chief of staff. Drawing on Republican House losses after the 2018 midterms, Coons said Trump says he wants deals and will make them in a few cases, but mostly will fight. Coons said continued fighting would dishearten the American people, who want ways to cut costs.
Coons’s agenda included possible congressional scrutiny of national-security compromises involving AI billionaires. NPR introduced Coons as expected to take a leading role in foreign policy and defense when the 120th Congress convenes in January. Fadel identified Coons as the incoming chair of Foreign Relations and foreign intelligence and asked about news that the NVIDIA CEO was possibly involved with a Chinese spy.
Fadel read Coons’s post on X, in which he wrote that the more he learned about “the insane relationship between the Trump administration, Chinese spies and AI billionaires,” the more he was convinced there was nothing the administration “does that is not corrupt,” and that Congress would investigate and get answers.
Coons said Jensen Huang was one of the leading proponents of sending America’s most advanced chips to China. He said it had become publicly clear that Huang was in an intimate relationship with a Chinese spy, and that the combination of AI billionaires, corruption and the Trump White House deserved “deep inquiry.” Coons said he thought there was a real likelihood American national security had been compromised and that Congress needed to determine “who’s really got their hand on the wheel.”
Coons previously said similar things about the Starlink slowdown in Ukraine, saying that Elon Musk allegedly decided on his own to slow Ukraine’s ability to intercept Russian drones striking civilian targets. Coons said a handful of billionaires — or, in Musk’s case, trillionaires — had “way too much power and control.” He said: “I’m not interested in investigating people just because I don’t like them.” Coons said he wanted to investigate them because he suspected they had put national security at risk, had been breaking the law and were lying to the American people. When Fadel asked whether the investigation was a top priority, Coons said yes.
Republican Rep. Thomas Massie plans to bring articles of impeachment against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. Fadel identified House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries as the likely next House speaker and said Jeffries told her Friday: “We’ve seen all the damage that he’s visited upon the American people, the world and the Pentagon in terms of military readiness.” Jeffries said he first called for Hegseth’s firing by Donald Trump in spring 2025 and had not changed his position. After appearing on ABC News on Sunday, Jeffries said he was a hard yes on impeachment.
Asked whether he would vote to convict Hegseth if the House impeached him, Coons said “Likely.” As a Senate juror, Coons said, he would weigh the evidence and listen to what was presented; if it rose to the level of conviction of removal, he would vote yes. Coons said he had been sharply critical of Hegseth, citing his random firings of seasoned military leaders and his advice to Trump, which Coons said led the United States into an ill-conceived war with no clear path out or strategy. Coons said Hegseth should resign.
On the Senate Democratic leadership choice, Coons said Chuck Schumer may very well remain because he was at the core of the party’s midterm victory. Schumer recruited critical candidates and raised funds for the majority, which Coons said would not have been won without Schumer’s role. Fadel noted Coons had a big win last week, then said a lot of voters were tired of the establishment of the party and wanted new leadership, and that incoming senators were indicating that Schumer was not their choice. Coons said he heard every day that people in Delaware and around the country were tired of the leadership they saw in the caucus. He called for a robust discussion of the values and style the leadership team should have, and said talented, capable young senators currently serving or just elected deserved a seat at the table and a voice. Coons also said Schumer had “remarkable skills.” Fadel asked whether his support was open, and Coons said the caucus needed “a wide-open conversation as a caucus about our future.”