Democrats sweeps Congress leaving defiant Trump a lame-duck president

US President Donald Trump was coming to terms on Wednesday with the prospect of two years of political impotence, after the Democrats won control of both houses of Congress in the midterm elections.

Issued on: 04/11/2026 - 21:08

 

The Democrats had won 228 seats in the 435-seat House of Representatives after Tuesday’s nationwide vote, against 139 for the Republicans, with counting still under way for the remaining 68.

The party had also secured at least 54 seats in the 100-member Senate, laying bare the scale of Trump’s political humiliation.

The Democrats’ sweep will turn Trump into a lame-duck president, a label given to US leaders whose party loses control of Congress, leaving them unable to push their policies through.

Trump will keep his power to veto legislation passed by Congress and will remain commander-in-chief of the armed forces.

In a show of defiance amid the rout, he posted a picture on social media of a red baseball cap bearing the slogan “VETO”.

When they formally take control of Congress on 3 January 2027, the Democrats will be able to block legislation, open investigations into the Trump administration and thwart his appointments.

Frustration over the cost of living

The results reflected voters’ concerns over rising prices, Trump’s use of tariffs against trading partners and the war with Iran.

“I feel like I could cry right now,” said Democratic voter Kathy Jackoway as she celebrated James Talarico’s victory in the Senate race in Texas. “This is so incredibly exciting. We can get our country back.”

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In an interview with the US broadcaster Fox News, Trump conceded that his party had been beaten. “I think the Democrats did a good job. They fought hard,” he said.

But the 80-year-old, who is barred from seeking a third term in 2028, sought to distance himself from his party’s poor showing. “I don’t view it as a hit on me,” he added.

Reaction from around the world

Foreign leaders and ministers reacted to the vote on Wednesday, among them French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot and British Prime Minister Andy Burnham.

Barrot said the way the vote had been conducted was excellent news for American democracy.

“The results are neither disputed nor open to dispute,” he added. “The president of the United States himself has admitted and acknowledged his party has been outperformed.”

Burnham said the result offered an opportunity for constructive talks.

“President Trump has accepted the results,” he added. “And I feel the world has an opportunity now to unite around the issue that is affecting us all, and that’s the cost of living.”

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Kaja Kallas, the European Union’s foreign policy chief, said she hoped the next Congress would put greater pressure on Russia. “Europe and the United States are much stronger together,” she added.

Iran’s supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, however, said he did not expect any shift in US policy towards his country.

“Those who still harbour even the slightest hope that the behaviour of the hegemonic system might change through partisan or factional shifts, or who imagine that making concessions to the United States can dissuade it from hostility towards the Iranian nation, are seriously mistaken,” he said in a written statement published on his website.

Democratic wins in Republican strongholds

The Democrats won in Republican strongholds such as South Carolina, North Carolina, Iowa, Kansas, Ohio, Texas and Maine.

In Maine, former logger Troy Jackson defeated Susan Collins, who had been a Republican senator since 1997.

In Kansas, the Methodist minister Adam Hamilton became the state’s first Democratic senator since George McGill was elected in 1932.

Hamilton used his victory speech to call for greater political unity and to highlight the impact of Trump’s policies.

“We’re better together, Republicans and Democrats,” said the 62-year-old, who founded the Church of the Resurrection near Kansas City in 1990.

“Thoughtful Republicans and thoughtful Democrats choosing to come together and solve problems like it used to be.”

Iowa’s wait for a Democratic senator was not quite so long. Josh Turek, the former Paralympic wheelchair basketball player, beat Ashley Hinson to become Iowa’s first Democrat elected to the Senate since Tom Harkin in 2008.

In his victory speech, the 47-year-old told supporters: “Only in America could someone born into a working-class family in Council Bluffs, Iowa, who went through the economic and healthcare struggle that I went through, ultimately be able to represent my country in four Paralympic Games, win two gold medals, represent my community in the Iowa legislature and be elected to represent a state I was born in in the Senate.”

First Muslim senator

In Michigan, Abdul El-Sayed defeated Mike Rogers to become the first Muslim elected to the US Senate.

In the run-up to Tuesday’s vote, El-Sayed’s fellow Democrat Haley Stevens had endorsed Rogers.

“They hate the idea of an America big enough for anyone who looks a little different, or prays a little different, or whose family comes from a different part of the world,” El-Sayed said of his opponents.

“That includes me, but it also includes anyone and everyone who doesn’t look like them, pray like them, love like them, or isn’t rich like them. So they turned this race into a simple choice. They want an America that is too small for some of us. We know that America is big enough for all of us. Big enough. We’re big enough to take on the crises that we face.”

Gains in the House

In the House of Representatives, the Democrats made gains in Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Arizona, North Carolina, Wisconsin and New Jersey.

They also won the governorship of Georgia, where former Atlanta mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms became the first Black woman elected governor in US history.

The Republicans had some consolation in Florida, where Trump-backed Byron Donalds became the state’s first Black governor and Ashley Moody held on to her Senate seat.

The dollar and oil prices fell on Wednesday as traders digested Trump’s defeat.

“Investors are trying to get their heads around what a Democrat landslide means for financial markets,” said Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.

“The big risk is uncertainty around how Trump could act in the coming months following such a result.”

The dollar sank against other major currencies on fears that the result could lead to political gridlock, after Trump warned that he would become “Mr Veto”.

Technology stocks also slumped amid suggestions that the Democrats could prioritise AI regulation.

European stock markets, however, rose in Wednesday morning trading. London, Frankfurt and Paris all gained more than 1 per cent as investors shrugged off official data showing eurozone inflation at a three-year high of 4.0 per cent.

(with newswires)

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