Trump gets an opposition Congress and keeps his veto

Democrats have won both chambers of Congress, according to the Associated Press, handing President Donald Trump an opposition-controlled legislature for the final two years of his term. ^[2]

The House call moves the November 3 midterms beyond the earlier split verdict of a called Senate and an undecided House. NBC News also projects Democratic control of both chambers when the new Congress begins in January. ^[2][4]

The Daily Inference reported on November 4 that ABC News projected Democratic control of Congress while the AP had called the Senate. The AP now reports a Democratic victory in the House as well. ^[2]

The transfer will give Democrats committee chairmanships, investigative powers and leverage over federal spending. Senate control will also let them decide which presidential nominees receive floor votes - votes by the full Senate, rather than committee alone - placing a new obstacle between Trump's choices and confirmation. ^[3][5]

Senate Republican leader John Thune said his party would work with Trump to oppose what he called the "worst impulses of Democratic extremism" and resist attempts to reverse Republican policies. Trump said he would veto Democratic legislation. ^[2]

The outcome remains a developing result, rather than a fully certified tally. The Guardian's live count put Democrats at 54 Senate seats and 225 House seats, while NBC estimated at least 258 House seats, a figure it said could change.

Alaska's Senate race remained uncalled, and Mississippi's contest was extremely close. Those figures are counts and estimates at different stages, not settled final margins. ^[1][4]

Seven Senate flips redraw the contest

Democrats took Republican-held Senate seats in Iowa, Kansas, Maine, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina and Texas, according to NBC. The spread makes the result more than a victory built around a handful of familiar battlegrounds. ^[4]

The AP named Josh Turek as the winner in Iowa, Adam Hamilton in Kansas, James Talarico in Texas and Annie Andrews in South Carolina. It also reported victories by Sherrod Brown in Ohio and Roy Cooper in North Carolina. In Maine, Troy Jackson defeated Republican Senator Susan Collins. ^[2]

Kansas supplies one measure of the scale of the reversal: Hamilton is the state's first Democratic senator since 1932, according to the AP. Talarico is the first Democrat to win a Texas Senate seat in 38 years, according to the Guardian. ^[2][1]

Republicans entered the election controlling both chambers. They will leave it facing Democratic majorities able to set the congressional agenda and demand answers from an administration that previously dealt with a legislature controlled by its own party. ^[2][3]

The House margin will matter even after control is settled. A larger majority gives party leaders more room to lose votes from their own members. But the Senate's rules and the president's veto mean that even a substantial Democratic victory cannot be converted directly into a programme of new laws. ^[5]

Power to investigate, limits on legislation

Democratic committee leaders will be able to choose subjects for hearings and use subpoenas to seek documents and testimony. The AP said party leaders had signalled investigations and deeper scrutiny of administration officials and Trump's family business dealings. Those are stated areas for scrutiny, not findings of wrongdoing. ^[2][3]

That power does not require Democrats to persuade Trump to sign a bill. It gives the incoming majority a route to examine the administration even when legislation stalls. The next decisions will concern which inquiries become formal investigations, who leads them and what evidence committees seek. ^[2][3]

Control of spending creates a separate source of leverage. Democrats will have greater influence over federal funding decisions, forcing the administration to deal with an opposition majority on a central part of governing. Senate control adds authority over the route presidential nominees take to a confirmation vote. ^[3][5]

Passing legislation will be harder. Most bills need 60 votes to overcome Senate procedural barriers, requiring Republican support at the reported Democratic seat count. Any measure that passes both chambers still faces Trump, who has said he will use his veto. ^[1][2][5]

Democrats have won the ability to obstruct, investigate and negotiate. They have not won the presidency. Affordability and health care priorities will have to pass through a system in which Republicans retain substantial power to block them. ^[5]

Voters were angry about prices and the direction of the country

The election took place amid broad unhappiness with the country's direction. Voter-poll findings cited by the AP showed about three-quarters of voters were angry or dissatisfied. About eight in 10 said inflation had caused moderate or severe financial hardship for their households. ^[2]

CBS News exit polls put the economy first among voters' issues, followed by the state of democracy. Roughly six in 10 voters said Trump was a factor in their House vote. These are estimates of voter sentiment, not proof of any individual's reason for choosing a candidate. ^[6]

Trump rejected the idea that the result amounted to a personal defeat, saying voters did not like the Republican candidates. The AP also reported that he said he would accept the results. ^[2]

The immediate task is to finish the outstanding counts and establish the size of each majority. In January, Democrats will take control of both chambers, and the contest will move from winning seats to deciding how to use them. ^[1][4]