What would happen if the DSA abolished the Senate?
The democratic Socialists of America (DSA) recently released a new party platform proposing a fundamental overhaul of the U.S. constitutional system. The plan includes abolishing the Senate, replacing the presidency and Supreme Court with bodies subordinate to congress, and redistributing constitutional responsibilities traditionally held by the senate.The DSA argues that the current Senate gives disproportionate power to less populous states and is undemocratic because each state has equal representation regardless of population size. They advocate for a government more directly accountable to voters, emphasizing proportional representation over state-based equality.
Implementing such changes would face notable constitutional challenges, requiring approval from two-thirds of Congress and ratification by three-fourths of the states. The platform also seeks to eliminate the Electoral College,replace the presidency and Supreme Court,and reassign Senate duties to the House of Representatives. Critics highlight the high hurdles for constitutional amendments and the potential concentration of power in Congress, which already faces low approval ratings and partisan gridlock. Many members of Congress are retiring amid frustrations with legislative paralysis and political toxicity.
Historically, the U.S. Constitution was designed to balance majority rule with minority protections,creating the Senate to serve as a stabilizing force against rapid swings in public opinion. The DSA views their proposals as part of a broader effort to expand democratic participation in all aspects of governance, aiming to make institutions more reflective of the popular will rather than designed to maintain minority protections.
The Democratic Socialists of America released a new party platform this week that would fundamentally remake the U.S. constitutional system, calling for the abolition of the Senate and the replacement of the presidency and Supreme Court with bodies subordinate to Congress.
The manifesto comes after a series of primary victories by DSA and progressive candidates, reflecting the organization’s renewed energy and long-term plan to replace what it argues are undemocratic institutions with a government more directly accountable to voters. Central to that vision is eliminating the Senate, which the group argues gives disproportionate political power to less populous states because each state receives two senators regardless of its population.
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“The Senate represents its two senators per state, and it’s very undemocratic at a basic level because a state with a small population gets the same representation as a state with 40 million people, like California, New York, Texas, or Florida,” DSA co-chairman Ashik Siddique said this week. “We believe government should be proportional to the population. The House of Representatives is more democratic in that way, and we just don’t see the point of the Senate.”
Such a proposal would face some of the highest constitutional hurdles possible. Article 5 of the Constitution requires constitutional amendments to be approved by two-thirds of both houses of Congress and ratified by three-fourths of the states. The Constitution also provides that “no State, without its Consent, shall be deprived of its equal Suffrage in the Senate,” meaning states would effectively have to agree to surrender the equal representation the amendment would eliminate.
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Beyond abolishing the chamber itself, Congress would also have to decide how to redistribute the Senate’s constitutional responsibilities, including confirming executive and judicial nominees, ratifying treaties, and conducting impeachment trials. Those duties would likely be dissolved into the House of Representatives.
Even if those hurdles were overcome, the DSA plan would concentrate more power in Congress, an institution that already has consistently dismal approval ratings. Congressional approval ratings were at 15% in June, and it has not exceeded 50% since 2000, according to Gallup.
The House specifically has also faced persistent criticism over partisan gridlock and dysfunction. Fifty-six lawmakers are retiring during the 2026 midterm election cycle, the second-highest number in recent decades. Thirty-five of those retirees are Republicans, representing roughly 16% of the party’s House conference.
Many retiring members are not leaving public life altogether but instead pursuing other offices. Data from 2010 through 2026 show a growing share of departing House members choosing to run for another elected position rather than remain in Congress, according to a Brookings Institution analysis.
Some departing lawmakers have cited frustration with the institution itself. Many retiring members cited “toxic partisan atmosphere,” relentless fundraising and reelection pressures, and legislative gridlock.
Why the Senate was created
The DSA’s critique mirrors a debate from the very beginning of American politics: whether democracy should reflect the will of the majority as directly as possible or be tempered by institutions designed to check it.
During the 1787 Constitutional Convention, delegates clashed over whether representation should be based on population or statehood. The eventual compromise created a House of Representatives apportioned by population and a Senate in which every state receives equal representation. The DSA argues this arrangement should be replaced with what it calls “small-d democracy,” institutions that more closely reflect the popular will.
“We really want to expand democracy over every part of our lives — to make choices about how our government allocates resources, but also to expand democracy in our workplaces and in our neighborhoods,” Siddique said. He added that abolishing the Senate is “part of our platform, and we don’t think that’s extreme.”
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The framers viewed the Senate differently. They argued that equal representation for the states and staggered six-year terms would make the chamber a stabilizing force, insulating it from sudden swings in public opinion while protecting the interests of political and geographic minorities. Rather than creating a system governed solely by majority rule, they designed a constitutional republic with separated powers and multiple checks intended to slow political change.
James Madison defended that approach in The Federalist Papers, writing that government must guard “one part of the society against the injustice of the other part” so that “the rights of the minority” would remain secure.
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