Rep. Don Beyer is pursuing another term in office, promising to keep fighting “abuses of power” while his party plots strategies to take back Congress.
The Democrat representing Virginia’s 8th Congressional District, which includes all of Arlington, acknowledged to ARLnow that his party has struggled to resist dramatic policy changes under President Donald Trump while Republicans control the legislature.
Despite divisions within the Democratic Party over its brand and trust for establishment candidates six months into the Trump presidency, the congressman cast himself as an effective opponent to the current administration who hopes to see his party reclaim power soon.
“Today, Northern Virginia is under attack, and we need a proven fighter to stand up to Donald Trump, Elon Musk, and their corrupt Trump Administration cronies to defend our community,” Beyer said in a press release this week. “I am seeking reelection to Congress because I am that fighter.”
Beyer, who is up for reelection in 2026, told ARLnow that he continues to hold fast to policy priorities like investing in fusion energy, creating legislation on AI and coming up with a national model for dealing with mental health challenges.
Implementing these changes will be a lot easier, he said, if Democrats can retake the House. But even given his party’s difficult spot right now, Beyer underscored his positions on the Ways and Means Committee and as top House Democrat on Congress’s Joint Economic Committee.
“I feel I have — despite being in the minority — more power and more influence than I ever have,” he said. “There’s a lot of big things I want to get done.”
His press release spotlighted his efforts to support federal workers and contractors, immigrant communities and LGBTQ+ people, as well as his forceful opposition to the dismantling of USAID and Trump’s tariffs and proposed tax cuts.
Other listed priorities include gun control, climate change and universal paid leave for workers.
At 75 years old, Beyer said he is as motivated and fulfilled by his role in government as ever.
“I think it was inevitable that as I slowly get older people would say ‘well, when’s he going to retire?’ So, I just want to make it clear, I’m not retiring now,” he said.
While leveling sharp critiques of the Trump administration, Beyer continued to keep some of his party’s most left-leaning members at arm’s length, including democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani, the presumptive winner of the Democratic mayoral primary in New York City.
Despite arguments from some commentators about the election’s implications for establishment candidates, Beyer downplayed the national relevance of former Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s loss and criticized some of Mamdani’s campaign promises, like free childcare and rent freezes.
“In general, I don’t think democratic socialists have the answers that our country needs,” Beyer said.
Looking forward, Beyer says Democrats can’t be “inauthentic” in dealing with Trump. But he does believe in reaching across the aisle when possible, and he thinks a Democratic Party with a combination of experience and youth is best suited for the task.
“We need a mix of the people that have great institutional knowledge and great relationships, including across the party lines, along with young people eager to grow into those roles. And I think that’s what we have,” Beyer said.
