Democrats reversed some long-held Republican seats and secured majorities in both houses of Congress, but a defiant President Donald Trump had a mixed reaction, accepting the results and working with Democrats while also expressing his own resistance.
In a post on Truth Social after Tuesday’s midterm voting, President Trump blamed his loss on his not appearing on the ballot, stressing that if he had run, Republicans “would have won by a landslide!”
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In an interview with The New York Times while watching the election results from the White House, he said he was “absolutely going to accept the results” and would “work with the Democrats,” but later posted on social media an image of a red MAGA hat with his slogan replaced with the word “veto,” referring to the president’s power to block legislation passed by Congress.
But pundits and pundits are already declaring the president a “lame duck” following the Republican Party’s midterm losses.
What is a “lame duck” president?
A presidential “lame duck” period typically refers to the period at the end of a presidential term after a successor is elected and before he or she leaves office. It is largely believed that politicians who leave office have significantly less influence because their remaining terms are limited.
The use of the term has been expanded to include extended use when a politician’s resignation is planned or anticipated, thereby reducing their ability to influence policy decisions.
With Trump leading the Republican Party and Republicans controlling Congress, the president had great influence over US legislative policy. But now that Democrats control both chambers of Congress, his influence over that agenda has been greatly diminished, and his departure could ease their concerns, assuming he can’t find a path to a third term.
Furthermore, his defeat in the midterm elections has largely been interpreted as a repudiation of Trump’s policies, and his ability to persuade or appease fellow Republicans to support his policies may also be diminished, as his deadline for leaving office is set for January 2029.
For this reason, experts argue that President Trump may already be entering a lame-duck period in his second term with two years left in his term.
Although “lame duck” presidents are often viewed as weak or incompetent, history shows that they are far from powerless to advance policy.
What powers does Trump still have?
Although the US president is entering an era of divided government, he still has executive powers, even though he has lost strong legislative influence.
Mr. Trump is known for using executive orders in the past to bypass gridlock in Congress and centralize power in the White House, even when Republicans controlled Congress.
In January 2025, when Congress appropriated only a fraction of the requested funds for U.S. southern border control, President Trump instead declared a national emergency by executive order to direct billions of dollars to construct physical border barriers.
When the president declares a national emergency, Congress can enact a joint resolution to end the state of emergency, but the president can block this with a veto.
The president’s veto cannot be overridden without a two-thirds majority in both houses of Congress, and the Democratic Party alone cannot override it.
Going forward, the president is likely to make the most of his veto power, as his new attire boldly states.
He told Fox News on Tuesday that he would veto any “insane” bills from Democrats. “And after a few months of vetoing, they’re going to go out and say, ‘How do we get this job done?’ And we’re going to work together,” he added.
Have other “lame duck” presidents been able to get things done?
yes. Historically, lame duck presidents have been able to achieve major policy goals, but they tend to focus on areas where the executive branch has broad autonomy.
“Despite the detrimental consequences for the party, many issues remain beyond parliament’s reach,” James Boys, a researcher at the UCL Center for American Politics, told Al Jazeera.
“The U.S. Constitution gives the President of the United States broad powers in the area of foreign policy, and President Trump is expected to spend much of his remaining term in this area.”
Several presidents in U.S. history have chosen to do just that. For example, after losing control of Congress to Republicans in the 2014 midterm elections, former US President Barack Obama used his executive powers to conclude the Iran nuclear deal, also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), and normalize diplomatic relations with Cuba.
President Barack Obama was able to defend the Affordable Care Act (ACA), a difficult health care law during the lame duck era.
Former President Bill Clinton spent his final months in office focused on foreign policy, brokering peace between Israelis and Palestinians by hosting the 2000 Camp David Summit. However, talks ultimately broke down.
He also used executive authority to advance plans to protect 58.5 million acres of forest, limit large-scale mining and logging on designated federal lands, and protect watershed resources.
Former President Joe Biden also entered a lame duck period after announcing he would not run for president in 2024. In his final days as president, Biden issued a full federal pardon for his son Hunter Biden and precautionary pardons for other family members and staff.
In a reversal of previous U.S. policy, Biden authorized Ukraine to use U.S.-supplied missiles to strike deep inside Russia. He also directed the Pentagon to provide the remainder of the $61 billion Ukraine aid package to avoid the risk of the program being cut short by the incoming Trump administration.
