Democrats win Congress as Trump accepts defeat but threatens vetoes

A Democratic majority in Congress

Democrats now hold majorities in both chambers of Congress, the House of Representatives and the Senate, after the midterm elections held on Tuesday, 3 November. Björn Soenens, a US watcher, called the outcome a firm rebuke to Trump. Willem Post, a US politics expert, said Jon Osoff was winning Georgia with nearly 60 percent of the vote and that Mississippi was still too close to call. He said Texas would go to the Democrats for the first time since 1988, crediting the 37-year-old candidate James Talarico, and pointed to Kansas, where a Democrat last won nearly a century ago.

Trump accepts the result, then reaches for the veto

In an interview with The New York Times late on 3 November, US time, Trump said he would accept the results and expected to work with the Democratic majority. He told Fox News that he holds veto power, the authority to sign or refuse laws, and on Truth Social he shared a picture of a red cap with 'VETO' printed in large white letters. Overriding a veto requires a two-thirds majority, so Democrats would have to win over part of the Republicans.

Trump also blamed Republican candidates. He called Texas governor Greg Abbott a 'RINO', or Republican in name only, and said the party would have won by a wide margin had his name been on the ballot. He told Fox News he did not see the result as an attack on him. In South Carolina, he reacted to television results by saying Republican senator Darline Graham had lost to Democrat Annie Andrews. Graham had taken the seat in July after the death of her brother Lindsey, and had Trump's full backing. Trump told The Wall Street Journal that the war in Iran was part of the explanation for the losses, and said on Fox News that his decision, with Israel, to attack Iran could partly explain the defeat. Prices have risen sharply since the US bombings in February, and Trump's popularity has fallen.

Limits on what Trump can still do

Without a Republican majority, Trump can no longer appoint new ministers or judges, but he can still issue executive orders that take effect without a vote in parliament. Those orders can be challenged in court, or contradicted by new laws, although Trump would probably veto such laws. Bert De Vroey, a US expert, expects the Democrats to struggle to reach the two-thirds majority needed.

“I do not see that happening quickly.”

He and Björn Soenens expect a legislative standstill. Soenens argued that the Democrats could undermine vetoes by passing bills voters clearly want, which would make a veto politically costly for Trump. The Democrats also regain control over appointments of judges and ambassadors, and have threatened investigations into alleged misconduct by the president and his family.

What it means for Europe, Ukraine and Iran

Experts expect little change in the policies that matter most to Europe. On trade, the issue that weighs heaviest on EU-US relations, Heidi Van Rompuy, who follows European politics, expects little shift.

“That is something Trump has fully taken under his own control over the past months. Congress has little real impact on it.”

Van Rompuy also expects Trump to keep following his own course on geopolitics, and fears he may lash out more abroad after his setback at home. A German diplomat said Europe should prepare for more bitterness and more demands. Bart Kerremans of KU Leuven said the shift in Congress mainly affects domestic policy, while foreign policy largely stays in the president's hands.

What comes next

The Democrats will hold their expanded power in both chambers from January, when the new Congress gains more influence over legislation and appointments. Trump has said he would work with them, but his posts since the results have turned sharper, including the 'VETO' cap, so the coming months will test whether his conciliatory tone holds.