In Tuesday’s midterm elections, Democrats took control of both houses of Congress due to a landslide defeat for the Republican Party led by President Donald Trump.
When Congress convenes in early January, it will be fundamentally different from the first two years of President Trump’s second term, when Republicans held majorities in both houses of Congress.
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Democrats will have greater power to scrutinize President Trump’s policies and block legislation they oppose, but there is still much the president can do without approval from Congress.
Here’s a look at some pressing political issues and how Democratic majorities in both chambers could affect them.
US-Israel war against Iran
President Trump acknowledged the role the war with Iran played in the Republican Party’s defeat in the midterm elections. “I think some of it was with Iran, but at the same time people understood the importance of what I’ve been doing with Iran,” Trump said in a phone interview with Fox News.
Voter dissatisfaction with inflation and rising fuel and food prices has been a major driver of criticism against Republicans. Democrats took advantage of this by focusing their campaigns on affordability and domestic spending.
In February, President Trump launched a war against Israel and Iran without Congressional approval. He could still order an attack, but he could face new constraints from Congress. With the current government funding bill set to expire on Dec. 11, placing significant budget constraints on President Trump’s military decisions, lawmakers could use their authority to veto additional funding.
But James Boys, a research fellow at the Center for American Politics at University College London, said that while Congress may want to cut funding, it may not be easy. “If you have troops in theater, this could prove to be very problematic and would be seen as putting American lives at risk,” he said.
Analysts also said the War Powers Resolution was unlikely to succeed in reining in Trump. Previous attempts to take advantage of the 1973 federal law have either failed or been nullified.
The War Powers Resolution allows the president to repel an imminent attack, but requires military action to end within 60 days unless Congress declares war. The president can then veto the bill, which can only be overridden by a two-thirds supermajority in both houses of Congress.
Projected breakdowns of the newly elected Congress show Democrats well below the supermajority threshold.
Scott Lucas, a professor of international politics at the UCD Clinton Institute in Dublin, Ireland, said Congress is constrained by a two-thirds majority, but after voters expressed dissatisfaction with the president in the midterm elections, what Congress could do is “work with some Republicans who may distance themselves from President Trump” to propose legislation.
For example, he said, “Vice President J.D. Vance opposes war and has done so from the beginning.” Vance reportedly sent a letter to Iran’s security chief last week in an effort to restart negotiations and avoid further attacks.
“Will he now do more to end the war?” Lucas asked.
But Boies said the fact that Trump can no longer seek election himself, because the U.S. Constitution requires him to leave office at the end of his second term, could instead make the president feel “unleashed to act with impunity on the world stage.”
“Indeed, given the weakening domestic politics, it is easy to imagine Donald Trump escalating his Middle East policy in an effort to establish an indisputable presidential legacy,” he added.
Tariffs and international trade
Last year, President Trump imposed additional tariffs of 10% to 50% on about 90 countries in an effort to reduce the U.S. trade deficit. The measure, which roiled global markets, was struck down by the Supreme Court in February, but the Trump administration found a workaround to the ruling.
Days after the Supreme Court’s 6-3 vote, President Trump doubled the tariffs and immediately signed another legislative executive order raising tariffs from 10 percent to 15 percent. However, these tariffs are limited to 150 days unless extended by Congress.
Democrats accuse President Trump’s tariffs of making the cost-of-living crisis worse because they bounce back onto U.S. importers, who ultimately pass them on to consumers. They accused President Trump of “pickpocketing the American people.” A Democratic-controlled Congress could seek an exemption that would provide temporary relief to exporters, but any further major shifts in U.S. trade policy would have to wait for the 2028 presidential election and a new occupant of the White House.
“The situation regarding the tariffs remains in US courts,” Boies said, adding that whether the government must return the tariffs it has already collected and the exact amount remains in dispute.
One area Congress is expected to push through regardless of a reversal of party control is passing tighter restrictions on access to Chinese technology. These include the Remote Access Security Act, which extends export controls to remote access to U.S. products, software, or technology, and the Chip Security Act, which requires companies to ensure that advanced artificial intelligence chips remain in authorized locations to prevent their diversion to foreign adversaries.
Immigration and border control
Lucas said one of the big outcomes of the midterm vote is that Democrats will become chairmen of all Congressional committees with the power to launch investigations and subpoena witnesses.
This could bring scrutiny to the Trump family’s vast business empire, the president’s relationship with the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s handling of the war against Iran. There is also the possibility that Trump will be impeached for a third time over the dispute.
Congress also could and will launch a wide-ranging investigation into the Trump administration’s immigration policies. Democrats have repeatedly advocated using new subpoena powers to scrutinize coordination between U.S. tax authorities, the Internal Revenue Service and the Department of Homeland Security regarding the Trump administration’s refugee and immigrant expulsion policies.
The detentions of people at airports and hearings in immigration cases are part of President Trump’s efforts to carry out mass deportations, one of his 2024 campaign promises. A poll released by Fox News ahead of Tuesday’s election found that 53% of registered voters feel immigration enforcement has gone “too far.”
The Department of Homeland Security claims that approximately 70% of immigration detainees are criminals, considering pending charges. But critics question this statistic because the U.S. legal system gives suspects a presumption of innocence until proven guilty in a court of law.
Lucas said the midterm vote means “Democrats and responsible Republicans will be able to reach out to states and local communities and encourage them to pursue recovery and responsible policies.”
