Democrats Take Congress; Trump Keeps the Veto

Card photograph: ARCHIVE. Donald Trump signs the One Big Beautiful Bill Act on the White House South Lawn, 2025-07-04. Photo: White House / Molly Riley, Public domain. Cropped for the card. License. Source photograph.

Reuters reported on November 4 that Democrats had won both chambers. Their majorities take office in January. Until then, the outgoing Congress retains its powers, while the administration continues implementing laws and policies already in place.

The victory gives Democrats committee control and leverage over nominations and funding. It leaves Trump in the White House with the power to veto legislation. The health provisions Vance helped pass are among the enacted policies the new majority inherits. NPR’s independent tally of AP race calls also confirms control of both chambers, including Senate flips in North Carolina, South Carolina, Ohio, Texas, Kansas, Iowa and Maine.

Nominations and appropriations change hands

The incoming House can use committees and subpoenas to investigate the administration; the Senate can withhold confirmation of presidential nominees. Reuters’s pre-election institutional analysis identified funding and debt-limit confrontations as likely pressure points in 2027.

Archive photograph of Donald Trump, 2025-06-02. Daniel Torok / White House / Wikimedia Commons. Public domain, U.S. government work. Source photograph. License.

The budget and prices facing the new majority

The October AP-NORC survey found that 85% of voters considered the economy a top issue and 84% said the same of living costs. The nationwide survey ran October 8–12 among 1,119 adults; its overall sampling margin was 3.9 percentage points. It describes the political setting before the vote, not the cause of every ballot.

CBO’s February 2026 outlook projected that the 2025 reconciliation law would add $4.7 trillion to deficits over 2026–2035, including economic and interest effects. The estimate incorporated laws through January 14, 2026.

Reuters’s October analysis warned that administration officials could resist congressional subpoenas. On spending, however, Democrats will negotiate the annual appropriations needed to keep government funded. Reversing existing statutes would still require presidential assent or sufficient votes to override a veto.

Living costs were central before the votes were counted

The AP-NORC survey found healthcare was a top issue for 69% of voters and the Iran war for 64%. It also found 79% disapproval of Trump’s handling of living costs. Those pre-election responses establish an agenda voters cared about; they are not an exit poll proving why each district changed hands.

CBO’s February model also projected near-term economic growth from the 2025 reconciliation law even while estimating its larger deficits. Its accounting attributed an estimated $3 trillion reduction in deficits to higher tariffs, with economic and interest effects included. Revenue collected at the border is therefore distinct from whether households face higher prices or industries face disruption.

The twelve annual appropriations bills will require negotiation across party lines, NPR reports. Unlike a hearing or a campaign promise, those bills determine which federal activities receive money. They are an immediate point of leverage for a Congress that cannot count on Trump signing its wider legislative program.