EXCLUSIVE: McClellan pitches Democrats’ post-OBBBA family agenda
The Virginia Democrat argues the party should pair its attacks on Republicans’ domestic policy law with a competing vision centered on affordability, caregiving and reproductive freedom.
Programming note: Congress Nerd Sunday will not publish this Sunday, July 5. The newsletter will return to your inbox on Monday, July 6. Happy Independence Day! 🇺🇸
In this evening’s edition:
AOC backs El-Sayed in #MISEN
June jobs fall below expectations
House Ethics says it has no sexual misconduct settlement files
First Things First
For the past week, House Democrats have marked the first anniversary of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act by reminding voters what they say the law has cost American families.
Rep. Jennifer McClellan wants to start a different conversation.
In a policy agenda shared exclusively with Once Upon a Hill ahead of its public release, the Virginia Democrat argues that Democrats should complement their campaign against Republicans’ signature domestic policy law with an affirmative vision of their own—one that defines family policy less through cultural debates than through the everyday costs of raising children, caring for loved ones and building economic security.
“All American families deserve stronger support, and I propose a better path to provide it,” McClellan told me in a statement. “My agenda centers on adopting legislative priorities through a family-focused lens that does more than play into culture wars and partisan games.”
The timing is notable.
House Democratic leaders have spent the week accusing Republicans of using the law to finance tax breaks for wealthy Americans through cuts to Medicaid and nutrition assistance while pointing to rising health care costs, hospital closures and declining Affordable Care Act enrollment as evidence of the law’s effects one year later.
McClellan’s proposal starts from that same premise but looks beyond the anniversary messaging to a broader question: what should Democrats offer voters instead?
Beyond opposing H.R. 1: Developed in collaboration with the center-left think tank Third Way, the All-American Family Agenda is organized around two pillars: supporting family formation and strengthening family well-being. Rather than serving as a comprehensive party platform, the document is intended to provide lawmakers and advocates with a family-centered framework for future policymaking.
The proposal explicitly contrasts with the Heritage Foundation’s vision of family policy, arguing that the government should support families in all their forms rather than promoting a single model centered on traditional gender roles or cultural norms.
Instead, McClellan organizes the agenda around lowering the barriers that make family life increasingly unaffordable.
Its recommendations include expanding access to reproductive health care and contraception, protecting IVF and fertility treatments, improving maternal health, strengthening adoption and kinship care programs, making child care more affordable, creating a national paid family and medical leave program, expanding housing affordability, lowering prescription drug costs and supporting unpaid family caregivers.
The document also makes clear that McClellan views those goals as incompatible with the current law, arguing that her vision “cannot be achieved until the harmful provisions of H.R. 1 … are reversed or reformed.”
That framing distinguishes the proposal from the week’s broader Democratic messaging. While party leaders have focused on documenting the consequences of Republicans’ law, McClellan is beginning to sketch what a Democratic governing agenda could look like if the party returns to power.
Reclaiming the family conversation: The agenda arrives as Democrats continue searching for a durable economic message after losing unified control of Washington nearly two years ago.
Throughout the document, McClellan argues that the government should make it easier—not harder—for Americans to decide whether, when and how to build a family, contending that affordability, health care, housing and caregiving have become larger obstacles to family life than the cultural issues that often dominate political debate.
“I envision an America in which everyone is free to plan when, and whether, and how to start a family, free from the fear that a pregnancy may be too costly or complicated, and free to work and care for loved ones without living paycheck to paycheck,” McClellan said.
The rollout is also notable because of who’s making the argument. McClellan, a member of the Congressional Black Caucus, Congressional Progressive Caucus and the New Democrat Coalition who serves on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, is positioning family policy as an umbrella for many of the issues Democrats already prioritize—from reproductive freedom and maternal health to housing affordability, paid leave and lowering health care costs.
Whether other Democrats adopt that framework remains to be seen. But after a week spent prosecuting Republicans’ signature legislative achievement, McClellan is making the case that Democrats also need to articulate a governing vision of their own—one rooted not only in what they oppose, but in what they would build next.
👋🏾 Hi, hey, hello! Thank you for reading Congress Nerd Daily. How are you spending the holiday weekend? Whatever you do, stay cool and be safe. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), Rep. Brendan Boyle (D-Pa.), House Democrats and leaders of the America250 Commission gathered this afternoon at Independence National Historical Park in Philadelphia to commemorate the nation’s founding. FYI: America250, the congressionally created commission overseeing the nation’s 250th anniversary, is separate from Freedom 250, the Trump administration’s task force for its anniversary events. Send me tips, scoops, or just say hi: michael@onceuponahill.com.
In the Know
Hiring slows, jobless rate dips: Employers added 57,000 jobs in June, well below economists’ expectations and the weakest monthly hiring pace in four months, offering fresh evidence that the labor market is losing momentum even as the unemployment rate unexpectedly ticked down to 4.2%.
The report also revised April and May payroll gains down by a combined 74,000 jobs, reinforcing a broader slowdown in hiring. Healthcare continued to lead job growth while retail and manufacturing shed jobs. Wage growth remained modest, and labor force participation edged lower.
The mixed report is likely to fuel competing political narratives. Democrats are expected to argue the slowing pace of hiring reflects an economy losing steam under President Donald Trump, while the White House can point to the lower unemployment rate as evidence the labor market remains resilient.
As I mentioned at the top, the report arrives as Democrats mark the first anniversary of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, arguing that the law has raised costs and weakened the economy through cuts to Medicaid, SNAP and clean energy incentives. Republicans, meanwhile, continue to argue the legislation laid the groundwork for stronger long-term economic growth.
The data is unlikely to settle the debate over interest rates on its own, with policymakers expected to place greater weight on upcoming inflation data before considering any changes.
AOC deepens Michigan Democratic divide: Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) endorsed Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan’s Democratic Senate primary, breaking with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), who is backing Rep. Haley Stevens (D-Mich.).
The endorsement is Ocasio-Cortez’s first in a Senate primary this cycle and comes as El-Sayed has gained momentum in one of Democrats’ most closely watched nomination contests. The former Wayne County health director already has the support of Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), while state Sen. Mallory McMorrow (D-Mich.) has consolidated backing from another faction of Senate Democrats, including Elizabeth Warren (Mass.).
The race to succeed retiring Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.) has become a proxy fight over the Democratic Party’s direction, with establishment leaders arguing Stevens is best positioned to defeat likely Republican nominee Mike Rogers, while progressives see El-Sayed as the candidate best suited to energize the party’s base. Ocasio-Cortez said Democrats face an “existential” moment and argued El-Sayed gives the party its strongest chance to win in November.
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Democrats warn OMB rule politicizes grants: Senate Democrats are demanding that the Trump administration withdraw a proposed rule they say would dramatically expand presidential control over federal grants, warning it would undermine Congress’s spending authority and inject politics into decisions traditionally guided by law and expert review.
In a letter to Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought, all 47 Senate Democrats argued the proposal would allow agencies to suspend or terminate grants “at any time for any reason,” making it harder for states, local governments, universities and nonprofits to rely on federal funding. The senators said the rule would also empower political appointees to override expert peer-review recommendations, particularly for scientific research, and impose vague requirements that grants advance the president’s policy priorities.
The letter cites recent grant cancellations involving mental health programs, disaster mitigation projects and transportation funding as evidence that the administration has already exercised grant authority in ways that create uncertainty for recipients.
Democrats also contend the proposal weakens financial oversight by removing requirements that grant recipients follow the Government Accountability Office's internal control standards and that it exceeds OMB’s legal authority under the Chief Financial Officers Act. They urged Vought to rescind the rule, arguing it violates Congress’s constitutional power of the purse and would make federal grantmaking less transparent, less predictable and more partisan.
Ethics panel says it has no records: The House Ethics Committee said Thursday it does not possess the records sought under Rep. Thomas Massie’s (R-Ky.) resolution requiring the release of taxpayer-funded congressional sexual misconduct settlements, but called on the Office of Congressional Workplace Rights to disclose any information it maintains.
The statement came two days after the House overwhelmingly approved the resolution, 420-0, with Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) voting present. The measure directs both the Ethics Committee and the OCWR to preserve and publicly release records identifying any member who settled sexual harassment or sexual abuse claims using taxpayer funds, along with the amount of each settlement.
The committee emphasized that it does not investigate or administer sexual harassment lawsuits or settlements. It noted that Congress overhauled the Congressional Accountability Act in 2018, requiring automatic referrals whenever a member reimburses the Treasury for a sexual harassment settlement paid from public funds. According to the committee, it has not received any such referrals since those reforms took effect.
While maintaining it has no responsive records, the committee said it supports greater transparency and urged the OCWR to comply with the House resolution by releasing any information it has regarding taxpayer-funded settlements involving members of Congress.
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