DSA Leader Puts Democratic Socialist Agenda in the Spotlight

Megan Romer, national co-chair of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), turned heads when she appeared on Fox News Sunday and answered a rapid-fire series of questions about her organization’s platform, confirming that many of the group’s controversial positions are, in fact, part of its long-term agenda.

The interview comes at a time when Democratic Socialists are gaining unprecedented national attention following the election of Democratic Socialist Zohran Mamdani as mayor of New York City, prompting renewed interest in what the movement advocates and whether its ideas could gain broader influence in government.

According to the DSA’s official platform, the organization describes itself as the nation’s largest socialist movement and says it believes “working people should run both the economy and society democratically” rather than allowing economic decisions to be driven primarily by private profit. The organization has more than 100,000 members nationwide.

During the interview, Romer answered “true” when asked whether the DSA supports abolishing the U.S. Senate, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), national borders and prisons as long-term goals. She also defended proposals to reduce or eliminate the Pentagon’s current role and expressed support for expanding public ownership of major industries.

The DSA’s “Workers Deserve More” platform calls for replacing what it describes as capitalist control of key sectors of the economy with public ownership. Among its proposals are government-run healthcare, expanded public housing, tuition-free education, Medicare for All, greater worker control of workplaces and a transition toward public ownership of major corporations and critical industries.

The platform also advocates significant changes to the structure of the federal government. It proposes eliminating the Electoral College, replacing the Senate with a different legislative system, reducing presidential power and restructuring the Supreme Court as part of what the organization describes as a more representative democracy.

On immigration, the DSA supports expanded protections for undocumented immigrants, a pathway to legal status, and the elimination of immigration enforcement agencies such as ICE while reducing restrictions on migration. Romer argued that migration should be viewed within the context of broader international economic and foreign policy.

The organization also calls for major reductions in military spending, a less interventionist foreign policy and expanded government involvement in healthcare, education, transportation and other sectors it considers essential public services.

Supporters say the DSA is promoting a fairer economic system that places workers ahead of corporations and seeks to reduce inequality through democratic control of major institutions. Critics argue the platform would dramatically expand government power, weaken constitutional checks and balances, reduce private ownership and fundamentally transform America’s political and economic system. They point to the former Soviet Union, Cuba and Venezuela as examples of socialist systems that produced authoritarian rule, economic hardship and the erosion of individual freedoms.

For New Yorkers, the debate carries particular significance. Mamdani’s victory has made the city the highest-profile jurisdiction in the country led by a self-described Democratic Socialist, ensuring that the ideas championed by the DSA will remain part of the political conversation well beyond the five boroughs.