The Democratic Party won control of both chambers of the US Congress, the Senate and the House of Representatives, in Tuesday's midterm elections. The results are being seen as a heavy blow to President Donald Trump and his Republican Party, which has held the White House and both chambers since the 2024 election.
According to sources, Democrats needed a net gain of four seats in the 100-member Senate and by late Tuesday had won at least seven, giving them at least 53 seats. Several results were striking: James Talarico beat state Attorney General Ken Paxton in Texas, Kansas elected a Democratic senator for the first time since 1932, and Troy Jackson unseated long-serving Senator Susan Collins in Maine. Democrats also flipped Republican seats in Ohio, Iowa, South Carolina and North Carolina. Read about the Georgia and North Carolina results.
All 435 House seats were on the ballot, and Democrats needed five more to take the chamber. The House was also called in their favour, putting New York Representative Hakeem Jeffries in line to become speaker. He would be the first Black person in the role, replacing Republican Speaker Mike Johnson. The new Congress will be sworn in on January 3, 2027.
Trump acknowledged that Democrats "did a good job" and "fought hard", and said higher petrol prices caused by the war with Iran had played a part in the Republican losses. But he also said, "I wasn't on the ballot and if I was, we would have won in a landslide." He warned he would veto what he called "insane" Democratic bills, while predicting the two sides would eventually work together. The president now faces his final two years with a hostile Congress.