WASHINGTON — Democrats vowed on Wednesday to use their sweeping midterm victory to rein in President Donald Trump, setting up two years of likely deadlock in Washington, while Trump spent his first post-election public appearance showing reporters the new ballroom he is building at the White House, according to Reuters.
A wave of anger over Trump’s policies, in particular the role of the war with Iran in pushing up the cost of living, helped Democrats take the Senate, where they flipped seats in deeply Republican states for a majority of at least 54 to 44, according to Reuters. Democrats also gained at least 30 seats in the House of Representatives. It will be the first time Trump, who also held the White House from 2017 to 2021, has had to govern with Democrats controlling both chambers of Congress.
Affordability and accountability
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said on Wednesday that the incoming majority would focus on affordability and accountability. “The days of the House of Representatives functioning like a wholly owned subsidiary of the Trump administration are over,” he said, according to Reuters. Jeffries is in line to become speaker when the new Congress convenes in January, which would make him the first Black speaker in U.S. history.
Once seated in January, Democrats are expected to use their power to investigate Trump’s administration, his family and his allies, and to demand concessions on major legislation, according to Reuters. A Democratic Senate can also block Trump’s nominees, including any Supreme Court justice if a vacancy arises. That has fuelled questions about the two oldest justices, Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito, and about how long the court’s conservative majority will last.
‘For me, it’s relaxing’
Trump, who on Monday devoted his last pre-election public appearance to his renovations of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, called reporters in on the morning after his party’s defeat to show off the ballroom under construction at the White House, according to Reuters. He acknowledged the result but rejected the idea that it was a personal defeat, and he retains the power to veto bills passed by the new Congress.
Two Senate races were still uncalled on Wednesday. In Alaska, the result may not be known for more than a week because of ranked-choice counting, a system in which voters rank candidates in order of preference. In Mississippi, the timeline for a decision was unclear. If Democrats win both, their Senate majority could grow to 56 to 44, according to Reuters.
What happens next
Republicans still hold power until January, and they face at least one must-pass bill before then: a measure to fund the federal government past December, which they could use to pass conservative priorities during the period known as the lame-duck session, the weeks after an election when outgoing lawmakers still serve. The new Congress, and the new balance of power, begins in January.
Read the Reuters report: Democrats vow to rein in Trump as he shows off White House ballroom.
