WASHINGTON, Nov 13: Democrats are expected to give priority to domestic challenges, including rising living costs, accountability and restoring ethical standards in government, following their sweeping victories in the US midterm elections, former senior diplomat Nisha Biswal has said.
Biswal, who served as Assistant Secretary of State during the Barack Obama administration, said the party would likely adopt a pragmatic approach over the next two years, concentrating on issues that featured prominently during the election campaign while seeking to hold President Donald Trump accountable for his administration’s decisions.
The Democrats’ victories earlier this month gave them control of both chambers of Congress, ending the Republican Party’s dominance in the Senate and the House of Representatives.
Speaking to PTI in an interview, Biswal said the election outcome reflected a strong mandate from voters and would encourage Democrats to focus on domestic priorities.
“I do think that there will be more focus from the Democratic Party on the values agenda. It’s going to be a fairly pragmatic approach because, quite frankly, quite honestly, there’s a lot of work to be done here at home in the United States on that agenda,” she said.
She added that the party would seek to restore democratic principles and strengthen ethical practices within the country’s political and administrative institutions.
According to Biswal, foreign policy would remain an important area of discussion, but domestic concerns were likely to receive greater attention from Democratic lawmakers.
She identified the conflict involving Iran, the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, relations between Washington and Beijing, and the Israel-Palestinian issue as the principal international matters likely to feature in the party’s foreign policy agenda.
“Those are largely going to be the major areas of foreign policy focus and a predominant focus on domestic issues, on affordability, accountability,” she said, adding that addressing challenges within the United States would take precedence over several global concerns.
Turning to India-US relations, Biswal said successive governments in both countries had invested considerable effort over the past two decades in developing bilateral cooperation and strengthening mutual confidence.
However, she observed that some of the progress made during this period had weakened, creating uncertainty about the future direction of the partnership.
Biswal said her interactions with Indian counterparts suggested that New Delhi remained interested in maintaining constructive and productive engagement with Washington. However, India’s expectations regarding the potential of the relationship appeared to have become more measured under the current Trump administration.
She also discussed the implications of the Democratic takeover of Congress for the US administration’s trade and foreign policy decisions.
According to Biswal, Trump would likely continue pursuing trade agreements by exercising the executive powers available to him. However, Congress could provide certain checks on the administration’s actions, although its ability to intervene would remain limited because many of the relevant powers rest with the executive branch.
She noted that several international policy matters would continue to be shaped through engagement between the US administration and foreign governments.
Biswal also welcomed the growing participation of Indian-Americans in American politics, describing their increasing presence across different levels of government as encouraging.
She said the community had considerable talent and was becoming increasingly involved in political and public affairs at local, state and national levels.
The former diplomat further pointed out that Indian-American lawmakers could play an important role in advancing issues affecting communities across the country, particularly healthcare, immigration and access to justice.
Their growing representation, she said, could contribute to broader policy discussions and strengthen the participation of diverse communities in the American political system.