Democrats seized control of both the House of Representatives and the Senate in the 2026 midterm elections, delivering a forceful repudiation of Donald Trump's agenda and leaving the president facing the prospect of a lame-duck final two years in office.
Democrats sweep both chambers
Republicans were hammered in a midterm election bloodbath, with Democrats winning states that backed Trump by significant margins in the 2024 election and seizing control of some states for the first time in decades. Kansas had not elected a Democrat since 1932.
Chastened Trump appeared to take the ballot box drubbing on the chin, uncharacteristically congratulating the Democrats and saying he accepted the results. He pinned the blame for the devastating losses on the war in the Middle East, which has created global instability and seen the cost of living skyrocket.
Trump said: "I think a part of it was Iran, but at the same time people understood the importance of what I've done with Iran. The Democrats did a good job, they fought hard."
Trump vows vetoes
Later, in a typical bombastic post-result assessment, he said that if his name had been on the ballot Republicans "would have won IN A LANDSLIDE!". While he said he accepted the results and looked forward to working with the Democrats, he promised to block legislation that landed on the Resolute Desk.
Trump said the Democrats would send "insane" legislation to be signed off, but he would veto it. He said: "After a couple of months of vetoes they'll call and they'll say, 'how do we get this stuff done?' And we'll work together. We'll probably work something out."
On his Truth Social platform he posted a picture of a red cap usually emblazoned with the Make America Great Again slogan but replaced with the word "VETO" in what appeared to be a reference to his ability to block federal legislation in Congress.
Key wins and voter sentiment
The blue wave that swept across America was described as the "total comeuppance of Donald Trump" as voters rejected his policies and party. Democrats flipped states including Michigan, Maine, Iowa, Kansas, Ohio, North and South Carolina and Texas.
In Texas, Democrat Gina Hinojosa beat three-term incumbent Greg Abbott to become the state's first Latina governor in one of the most consequential victories of the night. In Michigan, left-wing Democrat Abdul El-Sayed became America's first Muslim senator after a race-fuelled battle.
Some 43% of voters quizzed in one midterm exit poll said one of the reasons they turned their backs on the Republican Party was in opposition to Trump, whose approval rating is now lower than that of any president in nearly two decades. Almost three quarters - including 41% of Republicans - also stated there was not enough congressional oversight of Trump, with corruption, affordability, immigration and the war in Iran all singled out as concerns.
Reactions and next steps
After his victory in Georgia, potential 2028 Democrat presidential candidate Jon Ossoff said: "In a sweeping, decisive victory, the American people have rebuked the depravity, corruption and incompetence of the failed lame-duck president Donald Trump."
Democratic former US President Barack Obama said: "The American people sent a clear message - they want a politics that brings people together rather than divides them, and leaders who offer concrete solutions to the challenges they face." He added that the results were only possible because outstanding candidates stepped forward in every region of the country, and thanked election officials and volunteers from both parties.
Speaking about Trump's second term as president, former White House communications chief Anthony Scaramucci said: "It is a scene that will long be remembered by Americans - if we can get a reformer to come in after him and clean this up - as one of the darker parts of our history." After his victory in Georgia, Ossoff is now the 4/1 favourite to become the next US President.
