As the results of the U.S. midterm elections were announced late Tuesday night, President Donald Trump received a call from news outlet Politico.
The wave of Democratic support has sunk President Trump’s Republican Party. For the first time in his two terms as president, President Trump’s Republicans no longer control either Congress.
Recommended stories
list of 3 itemsend of list
But in a phone interview, Trump put on a brave face and offered an olive branch, saying he was ready to work with Democrats.
“They’ve already called and they want to work with me. I have the right to veto everything, but I don’t want to sit there for two years just vetoing everything,” he said.
Although several seats are yet to be counted, Democrats secured at least 253 of the 435 seats in the House and at least 54 of the 100 seats in the Senate, giving them comfortable majorities in both chambers.
President Trump later posted a photo on his Truth Social account wearing a red Make America Great Again baseball cap with the word “VETO” written on it. Despite the Democrats’ success, Trump retains broad executive powers as president, and Article I, Section 7 of the U.S. Constitution provides that the president has the power to veto any legislation passed by Congress.
Congress can override the veto, but would need a two-thirds majority, something Democrats do not have in either chamber.
But Trump’s comments to Politico highlight another possibility: The president could choose when to veto and when to work with Democrats.
bipartisan negotiations
As it stands, President Trump has three options: veto the bill, implement an executive order, or strike a deal.
According to the Federal Register, President Trump has passed 292 executive orders since taking office in January 2025, including 67 this year and 225 last year.
But Andrew Proctor, a lecturer in American politics at University College London, says President Trump now has even less influence in Congress than before.
“The biggest thing is that we’re probably going to see quite a bit of gridlock. Democrats will try to pass the policy, but he has veto power, and they don’t have enough seats in both chambers to override his veto,” Proctor said.
“The question then becomes, is he going to try to work with Democrats on passing legislation? Recent history makes me think that’s unlikely.”
Still, some Democrats say they will work with the president to advance programs that are central to his campaign promises.
Michigan’s Abdul El-Sayed, the first Muslim elected to the U.S. Senate, has already said he may work with Trump, even though the president used racist and Islamophobic rhetoric to target El-Sayed during the campaign.
El-Sayed told MSNOW on Thursday that if Trump is interested in “taking money out of politics, putting money in people’s pockets, and passing Medicare for All, that’s what I ran for office to do. I look forward to working with anyone who is willing to do that.”
“He’s the president of the United States,” he said. “I’m going to be a United States senator. If he’s interested in working on the issues that I want to work on, which is bringing health care to more people, ending Medicare cuts, ending stupid wars, ending stupid tariffs with Canada, then let’s talk about doing it and take action for the people.”
Progressive Sen. Bernie Sanders also said in a recent interview that he would not rule out the possibility of Trump signing a Medicare-for-all bill if Democrats pass it in both houses of Congress. He described Trump as a “politician” who is not “very ideological.”
Proctor argued that while Trump could certainly strike a deal with Democrats based on how good he can make himself look, passing universal health care in the next two years is unlikely.
“I think we are receding where there could be some common ground on health care, especially the types of subsidies that were cut under President Trump’s previous bill,” he said. “That would make health care more affordable for millions of Americans.”
Proctor noted that some Republicans in 2025 have said they are willing to negotiate with Democrats on health care reform.
“That didn’t happen in the end, but I could imagine that it could become a place for medical-specific policy and something might come out of it,” he said. “But I don’t think a broad health care conversation about passing Medicare for All will really happen.”
veto or filibuster
President Trump has historically not been the practice’s most ardent supporter, although he has said he is prepared to veto it.
He has exercised his veto power twice so far this term, and 10 times in his first term. Joe Biden vetoed it 12 times in his first term, while Barack Obama vetoed it 12 times over his two terms.
Overall, presidential veto use has declined over time. Bill Clinton vetoed legislation 37 times between 1993 and 2001. His predecessor, George H.W. Bush, used his veto power 44 times during his term, roughly once a month. President Ronald Reagan used the system 78 times over two terms.
But Proctor said Republicans also have other tools to try to block the bill. That’s the filibuster, a tactic that uses lengthy debates to delay votes on certain bills, impacting Democrats’ ability to get anything passed.
“This is what they did to Obama,” Proctor told Al Jazeera. “Senate Republicans will likely try to do the same thing. And that also means they won’t even get to the point where they can veto President Trump because the bill never got to him in the first place.”
impeachment
Since the Democratic Party won an overwhelming victory in Tuesday’s midterm elections, there have already been calls for an investigation into the administration.
Trump was impeached twice during his first term. He was impeached the first time for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress, and the second time for “inciting” the Capitol riot.
On Tuesday night, Rep. Robert Garcia, who is set to become chairman of the House Oversight Committee, wrote about Mr. X: “Get a lawyer.” Sen. Ron Wyden, who will chair the Senate Finance Committee, wrote “subpoena” in a post about X.
However, the Trump administration has already denied any wrongdoing.
“If Democrats choose to pursue phony investigations and radical leftist policies, they are choosing to go against the American people,” White House press secretary Lauren Biss said Wednesday.
Reports also suggest that impeachment proceedings against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth over the Iran war, which Trump and other Republicans blame for the party’s losses, may be imminent.
