Washington. Even before the Republicans' dramatic double defeat in the congressional elections, one question was always looming: Will Donald Trump become a problem for his party? At least now it can be said: He already is. The US President's party lost both chambers to the Democrats in the general election. In the past 70 years, such a change has only happened twice - most recently 20 years ago.
Voters have clearly shown their dissatisfaction with Trump - even in traditional Republican strongholds like Texas. Will the US President now change course? And what does the result mean for his support within his own party? Important questions and answers at a glance:
This is not to be expected - at least not by itself. This is also suggested by his previous behavior after defeats. When the Supreme Court declared large parts of Trump's tariffs to be illegal at the beginning of the year, the US President tried to stick to his aggressive tariff policy. He immediately imposed new tariffs on the basis of a different legal basis.
Trump's second term in office was also marked by a massive expansion of his executive powers, by ruling by decree. Now Trump is likely to try even harder than he already does to rule bypassing parliament.
Yes. With the majority in both chambers, the Democrats will have more power in the future, for example to try to contain Trump's customs policy through parliamentary channels. However, the hurdles for them to pass their own legislative initiatives are still high. Because in the Senate, a simple majority is not enough for many things. In order to advance key measures, the approval of at least 60 senators is often required. Here the Democrats will probably continue to rely on Republican votes.
Even if a few Republicans joined the Democrats in voting against parts of Trump's policies, as president he can still veto legislation. Trump has already suggested on Truth Social that he could exercise this right. On election night, he posted a red cap with the words “VETO” written on it.
In order to override a presidential veto, the votes of two-thirds of the members in both chambers of Congress are required. This is extremely difficult to achieve.
No. Especially in the fight over the budget, they now have more weight in order to wrest concessions from the Republicans for their concerns. With the majority in both chambers, they also have the opportunity to block important Trump personnel decisions as well as Republican legislative proposals.
In the future, the US President will also have to expect more control over his actions: from January, when the newly elected Parliament meets for the first time, the Democrats can initiate investigations against him and his cabinet members, force statements and have internal papers presented to them. Democratic Representative Robert Garcia already posted a brief warning on Platform X: “Get lawyers.”
The Democrats have long had their sights on a number of topics for possible investigations: Trump's unpopular Iran war, for example, the sometimes fatal actions of US officials in the raids against migrants or the business activities of the Trump family.
In the worst case scenario, the results of such investigations could also form the basis for further impeachment proceedings against Trump or his cabinet members - as in his first term in office, when the Republicans lost the majority in the House of Representatives to the Democrats in the 2018 midterms.
After her debacle in the 2024 presidential election, her clear victory in the midterms now looks like a brilliant comeback. Still, the question remains: Was this a victory on their own merits - or did the Democrats win primarily because of Trump's weakness? Their final campaign spurt in Michigan revealed that they had not left internal party disputes behind them. The Democrats are still unable to get rid of the problem of a lack of a leading figure.
Trump's unpopularity definitely helped them in the election. According to an analysis by the New York Times, the Republican had the lowest approval ratings of a US president before the midterms since Democrat Harry Truman in 1946.
Trump came into office promising to end wars. In his election victory in 2024, he also benefited from his compatriots' dissatisfaction with the economic situation under his Democratic predecessor Joe Biden. Two years later, many Americans are complaining about the high cost of living. Many of them blame Trump for this.
A major burden for the Republicans was also the Iran war, which their president started with Israel more than eight months ago - and has still not been able to resolve. The subsequent rise in fuel prices was a key concern for Americans before the elections. Trump promised again and again that oil prices would soon fall again. In vain.
Trump had explicitly declared the so-called midterms in the middle of his four-year term to be a vote on himself. In view of the looming defeat, he didn't want to hear anything more about it on election evening: "I wasn't on the ballot," wrote the US President on his Truth Social platform. “And if I had been into it, we would have won in a landslide!”
However, he made it clear that he wanted to engage in the now necessary cooperation with the strengthened Democrats. In an interview with the New York Times, he announced that he would accept the results. "We will work with the Democrats and we look forward to it. We will probably find a solution," he said.
During the election campaign, it was already evident how individual Republican candidates distanced themselves from Trump's policies. In Michigan, for example, Republican Mike Rogers called for an end to the tariff conflict with neighboring Canada.
However, almost no one who ran for political office again dared to make an open break. Because anyone who drew the president's wrath had to face the consequences of their supporters in the primaries and midterms. But with the end of the election, this disciplinary element no longer exists. It is therefore possible that more party colleagues will now dare to come out of the cover and openly criticize the president.
This is all the more true since, after the midterms, attention is already turning to the next big election: the 2028 presidential election. According to the US Constitution, Trump is not allowed to run again. If his popularity ratings remain so low, this will likely increase the incentive for his Republicans to turn away from him. At the latest when candidates for his successor venture out of cover, it will become more and more clear what a Republican party after Trump could look like.
