What the Republican Party’s huge losses mean for Donald Trump

Democrats just backed President Donald Trump into a corner.

The party is expected to defeat Republicans in key voting races across the country and win supermajorities in the House and Senate. The blue tsunami will hit Washington and shatter the bulwarks of the Republican Congress that supported and protected Trump during his first two years in office.

The preliminary results ended any chance that Trump would pass partisan legislation later in his term. And many of the interests he has been able to pursue without Congressional cooperation, such as tariffs, the Iran war, and a series of Washington-area construction projects, are sure to face sudden opposition from the newly empowered Democratic majority.

But the paradigm shift does not render Trump powerless. As president at a time of expanded executive power, Trump wields unusual powers that could thwart Democratic efforts to pursue unique policies.

But with his grip on parliament weakening and his approval ratings at record lows in numerous opinion polls, it is unclear how much support he will be able to muster to fight future political battles.

Even before Election Day, analysts and pundits believed a Democratic loss would be so decisive that it would force a reckoning for the Republican Party and potentially even pose an existential threat to President Trump’s “Make America Great Again” movement.

Marc Short, president of Advancing American Freedom and former chief of staff to former Vice President Mike Pence, told CNBC on Tuesday afternoon that the Republican Party is moving away from its conservative base.

“We need a refresh now,” Short said in an interview. “I’m lost.”

President Trump is vague about what he wants to accomplish with his remaining term. But he shares a vision of how to coexist with the Democratic majority, and that includes heavy use of the veto pen.

“This is one of the most powerful powers a president has,” Trump said in a Fox News interview that night. “They’re going to send us insane stuff, and I’m going to veto them.”

“And after a few months of vetoing it, they’re going to call and say, ‘How do we get this job done?’ And we’re going to work together,” he said, adding, “I have a lot of friends who are Democrats.”

Trump had previously announced his intention to veto a series of bills introduced by Democrats. In a New York Post podcast interview published Monday, President Trump said if Republicans don’t win, “I’m going to veto everything.”

Asked for details of his plans for the next two years, President Trump touted his accomplishments and said, “The most important thing is to keep doing it. As long as we don’t have people who hate our country, things will get better and better.”

If that happens, “I’ll be Mr. Veto,” Trump said.

He may get his chance soon. House Democrats, poised to be led by New York’s current Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, plan to pass the bill in quick succession once they take over next January, CNBC reported.

The push for the bill, first reported by the New York Times, is aimed at showing a united Democratic caucus is taking swift action on the issues on which it was elected, particularly oppressive high prices on everything from gasoline to groceries.

Within the first 100 hours after being sworn into office, House Democrats plan to introduce legislation that would restore enhanced health insurance subsidies that expired under a Republican-led Congress and reverse Medicaid cuts signed by President Trump earlier this year.

Democrats also plan to push legislation that would repeal President Trump’s sweeping tariffs and reaffirm Congress’s role in setting import taxes. And they will again vote on legislation to end the Iran war or seek Congressional authorization to continue the war.

But without Trump’s approval, these bills could be little more than a symbolic gesture, as Democrats would lack the two-thirds majority in both chambers needed to override a presidential veto without Republican support.

And there is no guarantee that the bill will even pass Congress. Despite the landslide victory, Senate Democrats fell short of the 60 votes needed to circumvent the House’s filibuster rules on most bills, giving Republicans significant leverage in the minority.

Democrats may benefit from Trump’s veto in the long run. Getting the president to veto a number of popular bills could be leverage in the 2028 election.

It’s far from clear that President Trump believes he can find compromise with Democrats on his initial legislative priorities.

But any potential for cooperation with the opposition could be undermined early, as Democrats in both chambers have aggressively signaled plans to launch political investigations into Mr. Trump, his political and business allies, and even his family members.

Gaining control of the House committees would allow Democrats to issue subpoenas under current rules.

Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif., who is likely to become chairman of the House Oversight Committee in the next Congress, said the committee would focus on the Trump family’s business dealings, corporate corruption and alleged abuses by federal immigration authorities. He will also refocus on the Trump administration’s handling of the file on notorious sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

After the results came in Tuesday night, Garcia summed up his plans in a two-word statement: “Lawyers, stand up.”

Garcia isn’t alone. Other Democrats have already demanded records from the Trump administration on a variety of issues. For example, Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Maryland, last week accused Trump of using the tariff exemption system to cut off “sweetheart deals” to industries whose leaders begged Trump for gifts.

Senate Democrats are sending similar signals.

“They’re going to have to plant new forests for every subpoena we print,” Massachusetts Sen. Ed Markey said on XPost late Tuesday, in response to a post that appeared to refer to tech executives.

The investigation is widely expected to consume much of Trump’s remaining term.

Trump is no stranger to being targeted by Democrats, having been impeached twice by the House of Representatives during his first presidential term.

But as his support base appears to be eroding inside and outside of Washington, Trump may need to confront his political opponents with fewer weapons than he has in the past.

AAF’s Short told CNBC that “I don’t foresee a Republican revolt” against President Trump following the midterm defeat. “But I expect some of them will quietly distance themselves.”