Democrats are at a crossroads. And different potential party leaders are already scoping out different potential paths back to power in a few years.

After the party lost November’s presidential election, its image has slipped to historic lows, and it lacks significant power in Washington to push back against President Donald Trump’s efforts to bend the federal government to his will — even as Democratic voters warm to the idea of an all-out fight against Trump.

It’s against that backdrop that key Democratic leaders are making early, yet important, moves about how to position themselves as the party looks toward a wide-open 2028 presidential race. Some seek to resist Trump at all opportunities, others concede victories to Republicans on cultural issues, and still more hope to split the difference — working with Trump when necessary and criticizing him when they disagree.

The early moves are, in many cases, nuanced and layered, and it’s clear that not everything these Democrats do should be viewed solely through the lens of potential presidential campaigns. Here’s a look at some of the high-profile ways key Democrats have been handling Trump and Republicans in the early months of the administration — and how those moves could set up future presidential campaigns.

Grab a slice of conservatives’ pie

Two days after Election Day, California Gov. Gavin Newsom convened a special legislative session that his office declared in a news release was intended to “safeguard California values and fundamental rights in the face of an incoming Trump administration.” And he has been vocally criticizing Trump over tariffs, asking countries to exclude California-made goods from retaliatory tariffs.

But he has also been making headlines for podcast comments like saying transgender athletes’ participating in women’s sports is “deeply unfair,” as well as for hosting former Trump White House adviser Steve Bannon on his podcast, letting Bannon’s false claims about the 2020 election go unchallenged and emphasizing populist policies on which they agree.

After days of criticism from the left for letting Bannon slide, Newsom responded on his podcast in an interview with Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz: “We can dismiss the notion of election denialism, we can completely dismiss what he did on Jan. 6, but I don’t think you can dismiss what he’s saying — reminds me a lot of what Bernie Sanders was saying, reminds me a lot of what Democrats said 20, 30 years ago.”

Meanwhile, Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania has prompted unfounded speculation that he could consider switching parties, a possibility he has forcefully shot down. But he has notably broken from his party with his ardent support for Israel in its war against Hamas in Gaza, he met with Trump at his Florida home, and he was among the dozen Senate Democrats who backed a high-profile federal law requiring Immigration and Customs Enforcement to detain undocumented immigrants who have been arrested or convicted or who face certain charges locally.

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis has been a trickier case. He was among the few Democrats who sang the praises of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., extolling his work in having “helped us defeat vaccine mandates in Colorado” — before he later posted in support of getting vaccinated.

But while Polis said in his State of the State address in January that he hoped to work with Trump on securing the border, he warned against “efforts to deport American citizens, to target those on pending legal status, to break up families,” and he has since pressed the administration over the detention of an undocumented immigration and labor activist in the state.

He has also been a vocal critic of Trump’s tariffs, taking a shot at another potential Democratic candidate, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, over the issue.

Resist Trump at all costs

Some Democrats are fashioning themselves as the tip of the spear in the Democratic Resistance 2.0 against Trump, in and outside Washington. While some aren’t necessarily seen as surefire potential presidential candidates, their attempts to step into the party’s leadership vacuum are garnering notice.

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker has spent much of his political career positioning himself as a potential Trump foil. Now, he has repeatedly invoked Nazi Germany as he launches broadsides against Trump, and he has also been fiercely critical of billionaire Elon Musk. Pritzker also blocked anyone who took part in the 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol from working in state jobs.

Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut is taking a similar tack: He has spent almost $1.9 million this year on Meta ads alone (more than twice the amount he spent from the middle of 2019 through 2024), largely attacking Trump, all while he has been front and center in the Senate and in news interviews warning that Trump is a threat to American democracy.

Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey, who ran for president in 2020, gave deflated Democrats an emotional boost with his record-breaking 25-hour floor speech that excoriated Trump and his policies.

Walz, who had second billing on the ticket that lost to Trump last fall, has made direct broadsides at Trump a centerpiece of his message since he has re-entered the national political fray. He has held town halls in Republican districts in states like Iowa and Wisconsin, and he has criticized Trump as an “arsonist,” a “caricature that had a reality TV show that pretended like he knew how to run a business” and the “worst possible business executive” in a recent appearance on MSNBC.

Then there’s Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, who has for years been lionized among progressives who see her as an heir-apparent to Sanders’ political movement. The 2028 presidential election will be the first in which Ocasio-Cortez, 35, will be old enough to run for president, and she has been barnstorming the country with Sanders, I-Vt., in recent weeks. She has also been spending heavily on social media to get her message out. But it’s unclear whether she would take such a big swing to try to jump to national office.

Head down and govern

Yet another group of Democrats are threading the needle between expressing outright support for Trump or joining The Resistance 2.0, evaluating their approach to him case by case while still sending a message of willingness for bipartisan collaboration.

Whitmer, the governor of Michigan, has joined several of her fellow Democratic governors in seeking to strike a balance, saying in a speech in Washington on Wednesday, “My oath to the people of Michigan is to continue to show up … no matter who is at the other side of the table.”

Whitmer made the remarks hours before she met with Trump at the White House for the second time in less than a month and stood by in the Oval Office while he signed executive orders targeting his political critics. Whitmer’s presence drew swift condemnation from some fellow Democrats, while her spokesperson was quick to make it clear that she wasn’t aware the executive orders would be signed while she was there and that her presence in the Oval Office was “not an endorsement of the actions taken or statements made at that event.”

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, who has been very critical of Trump’s tariffs, is also performing a balancing act in approaching the Trump administration, telling HBO’s Bill Maher in an interview this month, “I think it is a false choice to suggest you need either/or — either you need that resistance, that fight, that opposition, or you need to find ways to compromise and come together.”

In a budget address to state lawmakers last month, Shapiro announced his intention to work with Republicans when he can: “Folks in this building have been talking about cutting taxes for years. But here I am, a Democratic governor with an aggressive plan to cut taxes, ready to work with you to get it done.”

Days later, Shapiro invoked his “job as governor to protect Pennsylvania’s interests” when his administration sued the Trump administration after it halted federal funds that had previously been committed to the state.

While Shapiro and Whitmer, Democratic governors of states Trump won last year, navigate the tightrope of working with Trump on some issues and working against him on others, other Democrats who govern in states Vice President Kamala Harris won by double digits aren’t heeding their optimistic calls to work alongside the new administration.

In his State of the State address this year, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said that he hoped to “work together [with the new presidential administration] to make progress for Maryland” but that “if the policy decisions of these past few weeks are any preview, I fear that our most charitable expectations will be met with harsh realities.”

Since then, Moore has been at odds with the Trump administration over tariffs, the imperiled future of the FBI headquarters’ move to Maryland and Trump’s executive order targeting the Smithsonian Institution, which Trump said was influenced by “a divisive, race-centered ideology.”

“Loving your country does not mean lying about its history,” Moore, Maryland’s first Black governor, told CNN. “Loving your country does not mean dismantling those who have helped to make this country so powerful.”

Charting their own paths

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear delivered his State of the Commonwealth address in early January, days before Trump’s inauguration — and didn’t mention him at all, instead arguing that the state has “made progress by pushing out that national noise, by working together.”

But Beshear has since waded into criticism of Trump not just on tariffs but more broadly, too.

“His policies are going to specifically hurt my people. Tariff policy is going to hit Kentucky harder than just about anywhere else,” he said last month on an episode of the liberal podcast “Pod Save America.”

“People should be alarmed in the very least that we have a president who apparently does not believe in his oath of office and doesn’t value the fact the Constitution only makes him one branch of government.”

Rep. Ro Khanna of California, who for years has been seen as a possible presidential hopeful, spent last summer touring steel and coal towns trying to connect with rural workers. Khanna has spent recent months laying out a road map for Democrats that includes grounding the party in prioritizing workers while keeping up the pressure on Trump and not demonizing those “who have differing viewpoints on social or cultural issues.”

Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg made some veiled criticism of Trump in a Substack post explaining his decision not to run for the Senate or governor in Michigan in 2026, clearing the way for him to pursue another presidential campaign in 2028.

But after The Atlantic revealed that senior Trump administration officials used a Signal chat to discuss planned strikes against Houthi rebels, Buttigieg has been more direct.

“From an operational security perspective, this is the highest level of f— up imaginable. These people cannot keep America safe,” Buttigieg, a former Naval Reserve intelligence officer, wrote on X.

U.S. Rep. Nikema Williams’ resignation as chair of the Georgia Democratic Party didn’t sit well with some constituents in her district as the party, backed by an overwhelming majority of Black voters, seeks a new direction heading into a pivotal midterm election cycle next year.

Williams — who became the first Black woman ever to serve as the state’s party chair in 2019 — confirmed that she was stepping down on March 31. The statement noted her primary job as a U.S. representative won’t allow her to continue serving as chair of the state party due to recent changes in the latter role.

Democrats voted on March 29 to make the state party chair a full-time paid position. Georgia Democrats First Vice Chair and former state Rep. Matthew Wilson of Brookhaven has assumed the position of party chair on an interim basis.

“Progress demands evolution, y’all,” Williams said in the statement. “For the party to meet the moment while honoring its commitment to working people, the role of Chair cannot remain an uncompensated volunteer position.”

Calls for the congresswoman to give up her dual role as head of the state party intensified in November after some leaders criticized Democrats’ performance and strategy during the 2024 general election.

Black voters overwhelmingly favor Democrats over Republicans in most elections. Lower Black voter participation last year likely helped President Donald Trump defeat former Vice President Kamala Harris in the Peach State, despite record overall turnout in November.

But constituents like Felicia Redden, 40, a Dollar Tree employee at Campbelltown Plaza in southwest Atlanta, say Williams’ leadership wasn’t the problem.

Felicia Redden, 40, defended former state Democratic Party chair Nikema Williams. “As a community, as a whole, I think it was all our responsibility to go vote. [It’s] not just on one person,” she said. (Chauncey Alcorn/Capital B)

“She shouldn’t have stepped down,” Redden told Capital B Atlanta on Wednesday. “As a community, as a whole, I think it was all our responsibility to go vote. [It’s] not just on one person.”

Donnell Williams, a 61-year-old South Fulton resident who works at Kroger, said he felt Nikema Williams was “doing a good job” as party chair and sacrificed her leadership role too willingly.

Donnell Williams noted that Nikema Williams led the state Democratic Party in 2020, when Georgia turned blue for the first time in nearly three decades. “I think she should have hung in there,” he said. (Chauncey Alcorn/Capital B)

He recalled that Williams was in charge of the party five years ago, when Georgia turned blue for the first time in nearly three decades. Higher Black voter turnout in 2020 helped Joe Biden win the state’s 16 electoral college votes and make Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff the first Democratic U.S. Senate duo to serve since Zell Miller and Max Cleland in the early 2000s.

“I think she should have hung in there,” Donnell Williams said on Wednesday. “Maybe she felt the load was too much for her as a representative, I hate that it [was]. We don’t need people to give up. We need people to hang in there, you know, to the bitter end.”

The views of some constituents in Williams’ 5th Congressional District, which includes parts of Fulton, DeKalb, and Clayton counties, differed from those of critics who felt the party needs new leadership heading into 2026.

Those critics include state Rep. Bryce Berry, 23, who became the youngest member ever elected to serve in the Georgia General Assembly last year after defeating GOP incumbent Mesha Mainor, the state legislature’s only Black Republican.

Berry acknowledged Williams’ accomplishments, but said her departure was “a step in the right direction” and “a breath of fresh air.”

“We’ve been kind of doing the same thing as a party for the past few election cycles, expecting different results, and we get upset when the same results keep on happening,” Berry said. “It’s a relief to just try something new and to hopefully breathe some new vigor into our party that desperately needs vigor and desperately needs a fight right now.”

The Young Democrats of Georgia called for Williams to resign in November, with some members claiming Williams was too busy serving in Congress to also lead the state Democratic Party, which many felt is a full-time job unto itself. Campaign finance laws limiting federal lawmakers from raising money for state and local office candidates also hindered Wililams’ ability to fundraise, critics argued.

Others felt state party operatives under Williams’ guidance didn’t do enough to mobilize voters in rural areas outside of metro Atlanta, where many Black voters live.

Devante Jennings, 28, who serves as president of the Young Democrats, said Williams’ consideration for the feelings and concerns of others in her party is “admirable.”

“Now the party can really shape into where we really need to go and kind of move forward,” he said.

In November, Ossoff’s office declined to comment on rumors that he asked Williams to step down as party chair. While Ossoff is facing an uphill battle to keep his seat in the U.S. Senate against an as-yet unnamed GOP challenger after officially launching his reelection bid in March, he expressed optimism about the party’s future in Georgia via a statement provided to Capital B Atlanta on Tuesday.

U.S. Rep. Nikema Williams, D-Ga., and U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., greet Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport last October. (Jacquelyn Martin/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

“I thank Congresswoman Williams for her service to the Democratic Party of Georgia and look forward to building massive and unstoppable momentum that will deliver Democratic victories up and down the ballot in 2026 and beyond,” Ossoff said.

Former lieutenant governor candidate Charlie Bailey, Democratic National Committee member Wendy Davis, state Sen. Nabilah Islam Parkes, and former 1st Congressional District Chair James “Jay” Jones are some of the candidates rumored to be vying for Williams’ former post as state party boss.

The White House has moved the official portrait of former President Barack Obama to a new location in the East Room, replacing it with a painting of then-candidate Trump with his fist raised in the air right after the assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania.

The White House moved the portrait of former President George W. Bush to a new location as well.

In a brief video posted on X, the White House showed the new Trump painting in the spot traditionally reserved for the most recent official presidential portrait, with accompanying text saying “some new artwork at the White House.” Former President Joe Biden, who has been out of office for just shy of three months, does not have an official portrait yet.

A former White House official told NBC News that tradition dictates that the portraits hanging in this spot — next to the East Room in the foyer after walking into the White House — are of the most recent presidents, but that is not a hard and fast rule. The president can direct the curator to move things around, and noted that during his first term, Trump moved the portraits of former Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush.

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Nancy Pelosi privately offered some advice for Hakeem Jeffries as Democrats devolved into bitter infighting over a government funding bill reviled by much of their party.

“Use your power,” she told him in an hour-long sit down in his office earlier this month, telling Jeffries to flex his muscle with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and sharpen their party’s strategy with a shutdown looming, according to a person briefed on their conversation.

After a week back home where Democrats took an earful from their voters demanding they hold a tougher line with President Donald Trump, Jeffries is facing new pressure to forgo his cautious demeanor and lead the charge against the White House – and take the reins of his party’s strategy from Schumer.

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“He’s gonna have to lead, or Chuck leads. This is his moment, so step up,” said one senior House Democrat who is close to Jeffries and was granted anonymity to speak candidly. “He’s always bowed to Schumer, and I think that’s gonna end.”

The role of serving as the House’s top Democrat under a Republican president is a new one for Jeffries. Indeed, it was Pelosi – having served as speaker battling President George W. Bush and also during Trump’s first term – who often drove her party’s strategy.

And in the aftermath of Jeffries breaking with Schumer over the GOP funding bill, and as Trump challenges the limits of his power, House Democrats say it’s Jeffries’ time to step up and help articulate a badly needed vision for a party in crisis, according to interviews with more than two dozen members and operatives.

“We need to have a strategy, and it can’t be surrender,” Rep. Jared Huffman of California said in an interview. As for Jeffries, he said: “I think he understood the moment.”

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With polls showing their party’s standing with the American public at record lows and lacking a national leader, Democrats say the mission is growing more urgent by the day, fearful that without a new approach they could see their chances at winning back the House majority slip away in next year’s critical midterm elections. Already, some Democrats are pushing for a new policy agenda like the ones offered ahead of the 2006 and 2018 midterms, two cycles where Democrats took the House pledging to check GOP presidents.

“We gotta show people we are willing to stand up,” said Rep. Debbie Dingell of Michigan, adding that Democrats “have to be willing to cut waste and fraud” but also defend key government programs.

“People are scared, they are angry,” she said. “We have to protect the programs that people rely on.”

In his third year leading House Democrats, Jeffries is now facing his biggest national moment yet. And it comes at a politically vulnerable time for him personally. Before Schumer’s crisis of confidence, Jeffries’ leadership had also been the subject of questions from a divided House caucus and party base.

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“He’s never been in the position like this before,” said one senior House Democratic member, who said Jeffries “has had to adjust” and has been “slow” at times to tap into the anger from the Democratic base.

As Congress was staring at a government shutdown earlier this month, Jeffries rallied his caucus to try unite against the GOP spending bill, a position that unraveled as Schumer effectively allowed the measure to pass the Senate fearing a potential shutdown. But in a private meeting earlier this month, multiple battleground Democrats confronted Jeffries’ top spending leader, Connecticut Rep. Rosa DeLauro, about how they would explain to the American public what exactly they wanted from a shutdown.

Rep. Steven Horsford — a Nevada Democrat and longtime leadership ally — was stern, warning DeLauro that the party needed a strong message if the party was willing to go over the edge, as the room grew silent, according to two people who attended the meeting.

“I think the best thing that happened to Jeffries is Schumer bungling this so much,” another Democratic member added. “Prior to this, there was a lot of unhappiness and rumblings in the caucus about him.”

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Most urgently in the coming days, Jeffries will face the task of blunting his fractured party’s circular firing squad, harnessing the anger against his fellow New York leader and tossing it back at Trump. House Democrats have sharply criticized Schumer, with some saying it could be time for new leadership. As a result, headlines have focused on Democratic infighting instead of Trump dismantling another federal department.

Behind the scenes, talks are already underway between Jeffries and Schumer to align their political strategy on the coming battles against Trump. The immediate fight for Democrats will be trying to derail Trump’s sweeping tax, border and spending cuts package – a strategy the two New York Democrats discussed in a private phone call last week where they sought to sharpen their party’s focus against the prospects of deep cuts to Medicaid.

And then in the fall, there will be yet another funding fight over keeping the government open, with the possibility that their votes could also be needed this summer to raise the debt limit – more fronts where Democrats could have leverage.

In his first caucus-wide conversation after Schumer’s spending concession to Trump, Jeffries told members he had a “frank and honest” conversation with the Senate party leader about unity going forward, according to two people who listened to the call. He said he “disagreed” with Schumer’s decision to back down from a funding fight with Trump — even though some House Democrats now privately acknowledge that their Senate counterpart probably prevented an even bigger political headache.

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But he also stressed that in future fights, Democrats “need to be united” — a cue to end the intraparty fighting.

“We don’t have the luxury of devolving into the fight of who the Senate Democratic leadership will be at this moment,” Huffman added. “We got to make sure our tactics are better aligned.”

CNN’s Edward-Isaac Dovere contributed to this report.

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Nancy Pelosi privately offered some advice for Hakeem Jeffries as Democrats devolved into bitter infighting over a government funding bill reviled by much of their party.

“Use your power,” she told him in an hour-long sit down in his office earlier this month, telling Jeffries to flex his muscle with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and sharpen their party’s strategy with a shutdown looming, according to a person briefed on their conversation.

After a week back home where Democrats took an earful from their voters demanding they hold a tougher line with President Donald Trump, Jeffries is facing new pressure to forgo his cautious demeanor and lead the charge against the White House – and take the reins of his party’s strategy from Schumer.

“He’s gonna have to lead, or Chuck leads. This is his moment, so step up,” said one senior House Democrat who is close to Jeffries and was granted anonymity to speak candidly. “He’s always bowed to Schumer, and I think that’s gonna end.”

The role of serving as the House’s top Democrat under a Republican president is a new one for Jeffries. Indeed, it was Pelosi – having served as speaker battling President George W. Bush and also during Trump’s first term – who often drove her party’s strategy.

And in the aftermath of Jeffries breaking with Schumer over the GOP funding bill, and as Trump challenges the limits of his power, House Democrats say it’s Jeffries’ time to step up and help articulate a badly needed vision for a party in crisis, according to interviews with more than two dozen members and operatives.

“We need to have a strategy, and it can’t be surrender,” Rep. Jared Huffman of California said in an interview. As for Jeffries, he said: “I think he understood the moment.”

With polls showing their party’s standing with the American public at record lows and lacking a national leader, Democrats say the mission is growing more urgent by the day, fearful that without a new approach they could see their chances at winning back the House majority slip away in next year’s critical midterm elections. Already, some Democrats are pushing for a new policy agenda like the ones offered ahead of the 2006 and 2018 midterms, two cycles where Democrats took the House pledging to check GOP presidents.

“We gotta show people we are willing to stand up,” said Rep. Debbie Dingell of Michigan, adding that Democrats “have to be willing to cut waste and fraud” but also defend key government programs.

“People are scared, they are angry,” she said. “We have to protect the programs that people rely on.”

In his third year leading House Democrats, Jeffries is now facing his biggest national moment yet. And it comes at a politically vulnerable time for him personally. Before Schumer’s crisis of confidence, Jeffries’ leadership had also been the subject of questions from a divided House caucus and party base.

“He’s never been in the position like this before,” said one senior House Democratic member, who said Jeffries “has had to adjust” and has been “slow” at times to tap into the anger from the Democratic base.

As Congress was staring at a government shutdown earlier this month, Jeffries rallied his caucus to try unite against the GOP spending bill, a position that unraveled as Schumer effectively allowed the measure to pass the Senate fearing a potential shutdown. But in a private meeting earlier this month, multiple battleground Democrats confronted Jeffries’ top spending leader, Connecticut Rep. Rosa DeLauro, about how they would explain to the American public what exactly they wanted from a shutdown.

Rep. Steven Horsford — a Nevada Democrat and longtime leadership ally — was stern, warning DeLauro that the party needed a strong message if the party was willing to go over the edge, as the room grew silent, according to two people who attended the meeting.

“I think the best thing that happened to Jeffries is Schumer bungling this so much,” another Democratic member added. “Prior to this, there was a lot of unhappiness and rumblings in the caucus about him.”

Most urgently in the coming days, Jeffries will face the task of blunting his fractured party’s circular firing squad, harnessing the anger against his fellow New York leader and tossing it back at Trump. House Democrats have sharply criticized Schumer, with some saying it could be time for new leadership. As a result, headlines have focused on Democratic infighting instead of Trump dismantling another federal department.

Behind the scenes, talks are already underway between Jeffries and Schumer to align their political strategy on the coming battles against Trump. The immediate fight for Democrats will be trying to derail Trump’s sweeping tax, border and spending cuts package – a strategy the two New York Democrats discussed in a private phone call last week where they sought to sharpen their party’s focus against the prospects of deep cuts to Medicaid.

And then in the fall, there will be yet another funding fight over keeping the government open, with the possibility that their votes could also be needed this summer to raise the debt limit – more fronts where Democrats could have leverage.

In his first caucus-wide conversation after Schumer’s spending concession to Trump, Jeffries told members he had a “frank and honest” conversation with the Senate party leader about unity going forward, according to two people who listened to the call. He said he “disagreed” with Schumer’s decision to back down from a funding fight with Trump — even though some House Democrats now privately acknowledge that their Senate counterpart probably prevented an even bigger political headache.

But he also stressed that in future fights, Democrats “need to be united” — a cue to end the intraparty fighting.

“We don’t have the luxury of devolving into the fight of who the Senate Democratic leadership will be at this moment,” Huffman added. “We got to make sure our tactics are better aligned.”

CNN’s Edward-Isaac Dovere contributed to this report.