Democrats win both chambers in US midterms, German ministers see new room on Ukraine

A clear defeat for Trump's party

The Republican Party of President Donald Trump lost clearly in the midterm elections, losing ground in both the House of Representatives and the Senate. Republicans also gave way to Democrats in traditional strongholds such as Texas and Kansas. In several races Democrats won Senate seats that had been firmly in Republican hands for generations. The result is expected to have large domestic consequences in the United States, and the Trump administration will remain in office for roughly two more years.

Berlin's cautious official reaction

The federal government declined to assess the results on Wednesday, 4 November, saying it was too early to do so. A government spokesperson said Germany would continue close cooperation with the United States even if the composition of the two chambers changed. Berlin would keep pressing its interests, including a stable international order, rules-based trade and a strong NATO. Chancellor Friedrich Merz had complained months earlier that the transatlantic relationship had lost its taken-for-granted character, and Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier had diagnosed a breach of values. Vice Chancellor and Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil congratulated the Democrats and urged them to work closely with Germany, saying the result gave him confidence. Defence Minister Boris Pistorius spoke of a victory for the Democrats and said Germany would keep cooperating with the current US administration, which he said would not change and would stay in office for two more years. Bavarian Minister President Markus Söder wrote on X that there was a chance for a fresh start in relations and that the goal was more cooperation instead of confrontation.

Wadephul sees a chance on Ukraine

Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul (CDU) said he was somewhat more confident that Democrats and Republicans in Congress would now hold more talks on what can be done together to support Ukraine. He said there are committed supporters of Ukraine in both parties who understand that Russia's war threatens the United States as well as Europe. He described the cooperation with the US government and Congress as likely to become broader and, in some respects, more interesting, and said his relationship with Secretary of State Marco Rubio was completely intact.

“Maybe this is also a new opportunity to take a new initiative at one point or another.”

During government question time in the Bundestag, Wadephul defended his approach toward Russia, noting that he is one of the few Western foreign ministers in talks with Sergej Lawrow. He said this did not change Russia's rejection of peace with Ukraine.

“Russia is getting everything wrong.”

Continuity or more room

Metin Hakverdi, SPD member of the Bundestag and the federal government's transatlantic coordinator, expects a new background noise for Western and transatlantic interests in Congress. He said Republican senators who had kept their support for NATO or Ukraine to themselves may now feel encouraged to speak openly. He does not expect an abrupt change in US foreign policy, but he thinks the parliamentary room for maneuver, for example on dealing with Russia, could grow.

“Regardless of the election outcome, Europe must continue to consistently invest in its own security, sovereignty, economic resilience and free trade agreements.”

Peter Beyer, CDU member of the Bundestag who served as transatlantic coordinator from 2018 to 2022, expects continuity in security and economic policy. He expects Trump to keep focusing mainly on US dominance in the Western Hemisphere. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said in Brussels on Wednesday that she hopes the new Congress will keep supporting Ukraine and add pressure on Russia, and that Europe and the United States are much stronger together when it comes to pushing Moscow to end the war.