Gabriel warns of Stephen Miller as Democrats take both chambers of Congress

Democrats take both chambers

The Democrats won both chambers of Congress in the midterm elections held on 3 November 2026, and Trump has lost his majority. Republicans are searching for explanations, and Trump has offered his own: the party would have won had his name been on the ballot. In Texas, a Democrat won a Senate seat for the first time in 38 years. Five days after the vote, on 8 November, ARD's Caren Miosga devoted her talk show to what the result means for Trump, his party, the Democrats and Europe.

A panel without a Republican

Miosga's guests were Sigmar Gabriel, a former foreign minister and SPD chair who now heads the Atlantik-Bruecke, Annett Meiritz, deputy editor-in-chief of Politico Germany, and Ben LaBolt, former White House communications director under Joe Biden, who joined from San Francisco. No Republican took part, and the discussion produced little open disagreement. Gabriel argued that anyone who had declared the end of American democracy had been proven wrong. Meiritz was more cautious and said that anyone reading stability into the new majorities was mistaken.

Stephen Miller as chief of staff

Trump has named Stephen Miller his new chief of staff. Miller is seen as the architect of Trump's hardline deportation policy, and he is set to accompany the president through the final two years of his term. Gabriel described the appointment as a declaration of war on the Democrats, saying Miller is not someone who seeks compromise. Gabriel put it this way:

“Stephen Miller is something like the Lord Voldemort of American politics.”

LaBolt called the choice a worrying sign for the direction of the administration in the last two years. Gabriel added that Trump is weakened but far from harmless.

Why voters turned against Trump

The panel agreed on the reasons for the defeat. Living costs are high, the Iran war has pushed up petrol prices, and enrichment in the president's circle drew anger. Gabriel named the "unbelievable corruption" around Trump as one of the reasons for the Republicans' loss. Focus reports that corruption within the Trump family became a major campaign theme for the first time, ranking among the top three issues, and that the Trumps may have added four to five billion dollars to their own accounts. The same outlet reports that Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law, is making family money through dealings with Saudi and Russian parties.

Democracy, authoritarians and stability

Gabriel saw the result as good news for democracy, pointing to Hungary and the United States as evidence that authoritarians can be voted out. He said voters had only parked with the Democrats for now, so their loyalty was far from assured. Meiritz was less optimistic and said:

“I think almost nothing in the United States will be stable over the next two years.”

Gabriel's view was that democracy is working, and the broader message he drew from the vote was:

“Democracy works, and authoritarians can be voted out.”

Ukraine and the risk of a cemetery peace

Miosga asked whether Washington had moved closer to Ukraine after the vote. Gabriel answered that whatever Congress thinks, it is the American president who acts, and that a president can create facts. He warned that Trump could present a "Friedhofsfrieden" (cemetery peace) in Ukraine as a success if needed. The discussion framed the midterm result as a question of whether a weakened president becomes less predictable abroad, and the panel left that question open.