Democrats sweep Congress to usher in new era as Trump acknowledges effect of war

In a nationwide romp, Democrats ousted Republicans from coast to coast, with many surprising places in between, as voters rejected the president’s party for the promise of something different for the country.

Their majorities will be padded by wide margins in both the House and the Senate.

The results set up a divided government, with Congress poised to reassert itself as a coequal branch ready to challenge Mr Trump and reverse course after two years of unified Republican control.

“We hear you,” said House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York, who would make history as the first black speaker of the House if his colleagues elect him to the job when the new Congress begins on January 3 2027.

“We’re going to work hard to deliver on the dramatic change that you deserve,” he said.

Mr Jeffries called the election a “stunning rebuke of Maga extremism” and “a great victory for the American people.”

Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer acknowledged the political reality that voters may have been more willing to reject Mr Trump’s party than to embrace the Democrats.

“Many of the folks who voted for us yesterday are still sceptical, and that’s OK,” the New York senator said on Wednesday at the Capitol.

He said the history-making scale of his party’s wins — picking up long-shot Senate seats in South Carolina, Texas and Kansas — creates “the opportunity to prove ourselves worthy of their trust”.

The tally was decisive, at times bewildering, for the staggering scope of Democratic gains and the depth of Republican losses. The swelling margins underlined a deep sense of voter anger and concern over the economy and the state of democracy.

All told, the results present a fundamental reshaping of power in Washington, with new opportunities and challenges for governing.

Mr Trump acknowledged the Iran war impacted the midterm elections but said the “Iran thing” was something he had to do.

He struck a conciliatory tone, suggesting he could work with the Democrats, but he also warned of gridlock ahead as he threatened to use the power of the presidential veto to strike down their agenda.

“I don’t want to be just sitting there for two years vetoing everything,” he told Politico.

Mr Trump said he was not considering replacing defence secretary Pete Hegseth, despite voter dissatisfaction with the war, saying Mr Hegseth was “doing a great job”.

But the fallout for Republicans was raw and was only beginning.

Vice president JD Vance, often eyed as Mr Trump’s likely successor at the White House, blamed the president’s war in Iran for Republicans’ midterm wipeout.

House speaker Mike Johnson will not seek re-election as House Republican leader following the Democrats’ win, according to two people familiar with his plans.

House Democrats are promising a 100-day agenda starting with efforts to lower the costs of fuel, groceries and other goods, as well as bills to reverse cuts to the Affordable Care Act and Medicaid healthcare programmes. They are also ready to launch a robust oversight agenda to, as Mr Jeffries says, “hold the crooks accountable”.

Impeachment — of the president or his cabinet members — is an option.

The top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, Robert Garcia of California, issued a one-sentence warning: “Lawyer up.”

Senator Ron Wyden, the top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, issued his own one-word missive: “Subpoenas.”

Democrats will be under pressure to quickly show that they have solutions for the high fuel and grocery prices, the war in Iran and concerns about the direction of the country.

For Mr Jeffries and his leadership team, it will be their first time in the majority, managing a class of newcomers including a handful of far-left democratic socialists.

With the majority in the 435-member House well past the 218 needed and the Senate Democrats holding at least 54 of 100 seats in that chamber, Mr Jeffries and Mr Schumer will have room to manoeuvre.

For Republicans, their shrivelled numbers will create a reckoning of their own, as they try to figure out what went so uniformly wrong.

Mr Johnson had quipped he may return to his Louisiana hometown of Shreveport to start a lawn care company if the Republicans lost power. Rivals seek to replace him.

Republicans may be anxious during the post-election lame-duck sprint to accomplish as much as possible in their remaining weeks in power. But hopes for another Republican-only priority package such as their big tax breaks and spending cuts bill seem dim as defeated politicians prepare to go home at the end of the year.

Conservatives have also eyed the opportunity for Mr Trump to nominate another justice to the Supreme Court while Senate Republicans still hold a majority. However, no current justice has announced any intent to step aside.

And the government could be headed towards a federal shutdown next month if Congress fails to pass a funding bill to keep operations running.

In the weeks ahead, the parties will hold internal leadership elections as members-elect arrive for freshman orientation at the Capitol.

The House will choose its speaker as one of the first votes when the new Congress convenes.

In a lengthy online post, the vice president seemingly sought to distance himself from election results seen as a referendum on Mr Trump that featured big Republican losses across the country.

“The reason we lost is the war,” Mr Vance wrote, adding, “If you’d like to argue it was worth it, that losing the Senate for the next 6 years was worth it, then do so. Argue it was a worthwhile cost to pay. Agree or disagree, that’s at least honest.”

Rarely has the president’s party held on to power during midterm elections, but the Democratic sweep carried echoes of Mr Trump’s first term, when Republicans faced a voter revolt that sent Democrats to the House majority, and the Barack Obama era, when the Republican tea party swept to power.

This new Congress will also mark firsts and welcome trailblazers.

With the election of Democrat Julia Stratton of Illinois, the Senate will for the first time have three black women in office.

Democrat Peggy Flanagan of Minnesota will be the first native American female senator, Chris Pappas of New Hampshire will become the first openly gay male US senator and Abdul El-Sayed of Michigan will be the first Muslim to serve in the US Senate.