The Republicans suffered a resounding defeat in the US midterm elections, after a “blue wave” swept the House of Representatives and the Senate, and toppled historic Republican strongholds, from Texas to Kansas and Ohio, in a major reversal of the balance of power in Washington.
Democrats won at least 231 seats in the House of Representatives and 54 in the Senate, in addition to remarkable gains in gubernatorial races. US President Donald Trump acknowledged that the war with Iran was “largely” behind the defeat, but he considered that the Republicans would have won if his name had been on the ballot papers. He expressed his willingness to cooperate with the new majority, while at the same time threatening to use his “veto” against its agenda.
Vice President J.D. Vance held the war primarily responsible for the loss, noting that voters who supported Trump in 2024 had shifted toward the Democrats, despite their heavy participation in the vote. It was reported from a poll that they conditioned their return to the Republicans on ending the war, reducing the cost of living and inflation, giving priority to the “America First” principle, and changing the nature of the relationship with Israel.
Democrats now face the challenge of holding Trump accountable and fulfilling their economic promises, as they prepare to tighten oversight of his administration and press to end the war.
US President Donald Trump, on Wednesday, expressed his support for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, one day after Democrats won control of the House of Representatives and the Senate in the midterm elections, which reflected voter anger over the war on Iran.
In response to a question about whether he was considering replacing Hegseth, whom Trump described as a staunch supporter of the war, the US President told reporters: “No, I think he is doing a very good job.”
This response comes in contrast to the position of former President George Bush, who fired Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld the morning after the 2006 midterm elections, when voter dissatisfaction with the war in Iraq helped Democrats win control of Congress.
But sources said Trump could still replace Hegseth, with Republicans continuing to assess their losses.
One of Trump's advisers said that Hegseth "may be on the verge of losing his position" because of the war. He added: “Someone will be held responsible for this, and it is obvious that this person will not be (Trump).”
The US President previously described Hegseth as one of the main supporters of this unpopular conflict, and said on March 23: “Pete, I think you were the first to raise your voice, and said: Let’s do it, because we cannot allow them to have a nuclear weapon.”
On Wednesday, Vice President J.D. Vance publicly questioned the feasibility of the Iran war, saying it had cost Republicans control of Congress.
The Department of Defense said that Hegseth is “100 percent committed” to leading the Pentagon until the end of Trump’s term, on January 20, 2029.
Possibilities of impeachment and impeachment
Hegseth has long been a divisive figure in American politics, sparking feuds even within his own Republican Party. Indeed, earlier this year, one of the Republican legislators, US Representative Thomas Massie, submitted a memorandum to impeach and dismiss him, accusing him of abusing his position to launch hostilities against Iran without the approval of Congress.
Republican Senator Thom Tillis told CBS News on Tuesday night that Hegseth's "reckoning" was coming, and that his tense relationship with lawmakers was undermining the Trump administration's efforts to pass a $1.5 trillion defense spending package in Congress.
Tillis said, as the results of the midterm elections emerged: “I think that after the elections, we have to determine whether he is the most appropriate person to present those needs to Congress or not, if he wants to accomplish something before the end of the current Congress session, which has only 60 days remaining.”
Democrats have vowed to investigate Hegseth and his handling of Pentagon affairs, and aides say this may include everything from his handling of the war against Iran to his dismissals of senior military personnel, including the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
He could also face scrutiny over his policy toward Ukraine and U.S. military strikes on boats suspected of drug trafficking in Latin American waters, which some Democrats say could constitute war crimes.
The Democrats' success in controlling the US Congress on Tuesday was not limited to the federal level only, but also extended to the states. The party succeeded in seizing governorships previously controlled by Republicans in at least five states. It is also on the cusp of extending full control over governments in at least six other states.
The Democrats' victories mean that the party, for the first time in years, will control the majority of state governorships, including traditional conservative strongholds such as Texas, where Democrat Gina Inhosa defeated Republican Governor Greg Abbott, who had strong funding, making Inhosa the first female governor of Latin origins in the state's history.
The victories were not limited to governorships only, but the Democratic candidates took control of the two legislative chambers in the states of Michigan, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, giving the party “triple” control over the legislative bodies and the governorship in those states. Democrats also broke the “tripartite” control of Republicans in the states of Georgia, Iowa, Ohio, and Texas.
Policy experts said that these victories could affect future national elections by changing the way electoral districts are drawn for the US Congress, how elections are administered, and how results are certified, as well as Democrats having more control over state laws related to the minimum wage, data centers, the possibility of abortion, and other hot-button issues.
Some of the biggest and most surprising victories came in swing states that were a key factor in President Donald Trump's victories in the presidential elections. These are states where, over the past few years, Republican-led legislatures have redrawn the boundaries of congressional districts to serve their party's interests.
In at least three states - Georgia, Indiana and Ohio - Democrats also ousted incumbent Republican state secretaries, the position that typically oversees the administration of elections and certifying results.
Michael Berkman, professor of political science and director of the McCourtney Democracy Institute at Pennsylvania State University, says that all of these results are “critically important” in future American elections.
He added that Republicans achieved a similar landslide victory in state-level offices during former President Barack Obama's first midterm elections in 2010, which allowed them to pass electoral laws, redraw the boundaries of congressional electoral districts, and give their party more control over how elections are administered in some states.
“So, this gives Democrats an opportunity to actually start to restore that,” Berkman continued.
