Democrats seize Congress, set stage for Trump showdown in final term
The party of President Trump's opponents wins control of both chambers, setting the tone for a combative end to his term.
By Marco Whitaker ·
The results of the midterm elections are in, and they signal a dramatic shift in the balance of power in Washington. Democrats have secured healthy majorities in both the House and the Senate, a resounding victory that puts them in the driver's seat for the next two years of the legislative calendar. This outcome stands in stark contrast to the expectations of many who believed the incumbent president's popularity would carry through to the midterms. Instead, voters chose change, granting the opposition the mandate to aggressively investigate the executive branch and push for policy changes on the economy and border security.
President Donald Trump has already taken a combative stance toward the incoming Democratic leadership, setting a tone of intense conflict for the remainder of his time in office. He declared on social media that investigative requests already made by Democrats are extortion at the highest level, and that they should be held accountable. Attorney General Todd Blanche echoed this sentiment, stating that criminal investigations of Democrats are possible. Blanche argued that the administration is not allowed to just go around threatening existing members of the administration or companies, a position he said reflects what the president is extremely worried about. This early rhetoric sets up a showdown that will likely define the final two years of the Trump presidency and test the power of Congress to put a check on the White House.
About seven in ten voters nationally say Congress is not doing enough to provide checks and balances on the presidency, according to the AP Voter Poll, a survey of more than 100,000 midterm voters. This sentiment appears to have driven the Democratic turnout and their subsequent victory. The new House leadership, under the guidance of figures like Rep. Robert Garcia, is preparing investigations into what he calls the Trump crime family. Garcia, who is poised to chair the powerful House Oversight Committee, said Democrats are not going to be intimidated. He declared that the days of them not fighting back are over. This aggressive posture suggests that the new Congress will be far less deferential to the executive branch than its predecessor.
Democrats have made clear that impeachment is an option for the new Congress, though there is some internal tension about how to proceed. Democratic House leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York said that if people have been shortchanging, screwing over, or stealing from the American people, they need to be held accountable in a manner consistent with Congress' constitutional role. However, some Democrats are worried about overreach, warning that delivering on their central promise to voters to lower the cost of living must take precedence. There is a fear that their resounding wins, which have given them healthy majorities in the House and Senate, will prove fleeting if conflict with Trump defines the entire agenda.
Sen.-elect Adam Hamilton, the first Democrat elected to the Senate from Kansas in 94 years, expressed skepticism about impeachment. He stated that his campaign was about trying to bring people together and that he does not want the next two years to be spent dividing the country further. Hamilton said he is not as interested in impeachment as setting up guardrails, though he acknowledged that some investigations are necessary. Sen. Bernie Sanders, a Vermont independent who caucuses with Democrats, also warned that there is only so much time. He said, We cannot spend all of our time investigating Trump. We've got to stand up for working-class families, make a real difference in their lives. This internal debate highlights the challenge Democrats face in balancing accountability with legislative productivity.
Jeffries, who is on the cusp of becoming the nation's first Black House speaker, was asked on election night about the prospects of working with Trump. He said he would be ready to work with the other side of the aisle whenever and wherever possible to deliver real results. However, he criticized Trump's choice of longtime adviser Stephen Miller to succeed Susie Wiles as his chief of staff, calling it an awful choice. Jeffries cast doubt on the prospect of working with Miller, saying there is not going to be an opportunity to work with him and what he represents. He added that Democrats are committed to forcefully pushing back against the extremism that they may try to continue to unleash on the American people. This criticism reflects the broader Democratic view that Miller, an architect of the administration's mass deportation machine, represents a hardline approach that resonated with voters who felt enforcement had gone too far.
About six in ten voters said the administration's actions on immigration enforcement had gone too far, according to the AP Voter Poll. This issue was a central focus of the midterm campaigns and appears to have played a significant role in the outcome. Jeffries also said he supports a pending resolution from Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., to impeach Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. He said Democrats would be discussing it when they return to the Capitol this week, calling it a hard yes on the Hegseth resolution. Hegseth, in a video, dismissed the impeachment push as all about the politics of personal destruction, saying it won't work with me. This exchange underscores the personal nature of the conflict that is developing between the two branches of government.
