Not afraid of Trump’s veto on aid to Ukraine, foreign media analyzes Democratic Congress’ response methods

The U.S. Democratic Party won a big victory in the midterm elections and gained majority control of the Senate and House of Representatives. It is expected to confront U.S. President Trump on issues such as the conflict between Ukraine and Russia. Foreign media pointed out that the US president has broad powers in foreign affairs, especially Trump's use of executive orders and other means to avoid congressional checks and balances, including directly teaming up with Israel to bomb Iran without seeking approval from lawmakers. Even though Trump is unlikely to change his approach due to his election defeat, Democrats can still exert pressure on Congress with their majority power.

For example, adding provisions to assist Kyiv or sanction Russia in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) and other major budget-related bills. Not only that, Congress can also block Trump's personnel nominations, hold hearings and launch investigations, or use Congress's constitutional power to impose restrictions on government spending, cut official travel expenses, and make life difficult for government officials.

Although Trump has predicted that he will act as the "Mr. Veto" who blocks the Democratic bill, experts believe that the magnitude of this victory will make it easy for the Democratic Party to win over Republican lawmakers to defect and form the two-thirds of seats needed to overturn the veto. Especially on the Ukraine issue, dozens of Republican congressmen have previously joined the ranks of the Democrats. And given that moving closer to Moscow is unpopular with the American public and some senior Republicans, a Democratic-led Congress should be able to limit Trump’s further efforts to curry favor with Russia.

Uzbekistan is looking forward to whether the trilateral talks between the United States, Ukraine and Russia, which are about to resume in Abu Dhabi, will yield results. A Democratic victory may also put pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the war as soon as possible. Denys Sienik, charge d'affaires of the Ukrainian Embassy in the United States, said that Kyiv's primary goal is still to maintain strong cross-party support in both houses of the United States.