Original source: Jin Ten Data
After the U.S. midterm elections, the power dynamics in Washington will undergo significant changes. The Democratic Party has won a majority in both the House of Representatives and the Senate, ending the Republican Party's previous control over both chambers of Congress. Starting in January, when the new Congress officially takes office, Trump will face for the first time a Congress fully controlled by the Democratic Party during his second term.
Over the past two years, Trump has relied on the Republican Party's control of the White House and Congress to push through large-scale tax reduction bills and avoid strict scrutiny from congressional committees for government and cabinet members. Now, this political advantage no longer exists.
The Democratic Party can not only block legislation they oppose but will also gain greater investigative oversight authority, allowing them to examine the Trump administration and its inner circle through hearings, subpoenas, and document requests.
However, the change in congressional control does not mean Trump will lose all policy tools. The President still has veto power and can take action through executive orders without relying on congressional legislation.
Narrowing Legislative Space, Democrats to Hold Investigative Initiative
With the Democratic Party fully controlling Congress, the first change is the allocation of legislative power.
After securing a majority in both the House and the Senate, the Democratic Party can block legislation they oppose, but pushing their own policy proposals also faces procedural obstacles.
In the Senate, most bills typically require 60 votes to end what is known as "filibuster." This procedure allows senators to extend debate to prevent a bill from reaching a final vote. In a Senate with 100 seats, even if the Democratic Party achieves a simple majority, they may not be able to meet this threshold.
However, the Democratic Party can utilize a special "budget reconciliation process" to bypass the filibuster.
This process primarily applies to budgetary matters such as government spending, taxes, and federal debt ceilings. First, both the House and Senate must agree on a budget resolution that sets overall revenue and expenditure goals. Subsequently, related bills aimed at achieving these budget goals can pass in the Senate with only a simple majority vote.
The Republican Party previously utilized this procedure to promote tax reduction bills in both 2017 during Trump’s first term and in 2025 during his second term.
But Trump can still veto any bills passed by Congress. To override a presidential veto, both the House and the Senate must achieve a two-thirds majority, which the Democrats currently do not possess.
However, the presidential veto also carries political costs. If Trump vetoes bills addressing the cost of living issues for voters, it may further impact his approval ratings.
The Democratic Party is expected to prioritize restoring healthcare benefits, including rolling back parts of the 2025 tax bill that cut Medicaid and restoring enhanced subsidies for individual health insurance costs.
Trump has previously suggested that if he continues to veto bills proposed by the Democratic Party, both sides might ultimately be willing to reach a compromise.
In fact, even if the President's party differs from the majority party in Congress, significant legislation can still pass as long as both sides are willing to negotiate. Historically, cases such as the plan to save the Social Security system in 1983, significant tax reforms in 1986, and large-scale adjustments to the U.S. welfare system in 1996 all represent bipartisan cooperation.
The change in congressional oversight authority is a more direct policy tool gained by the Democratic Party after securing a majority.
The Democratic Party may restart or expand investigations into Trump and his administration, with potential subjects including stock trading by the Trump family, funding from private enterprises for White House events, government immigration enforcement policies, and how the Trump administration handled files related to the late sex offender and financier Jeffrey Epstein.
Congressional committees can issue subpoenas requiring private citizens, businesses, and government officials to submit documents or attend hearings. For those who refuse to cooperate, committees can consider holding them in "contempt of Congress," and related actions may face fines and up to 12 months of imprisonment.
Congress can also refer leads of suspected criminal activity to the Department of Justice, requesting further investigation, but Congress itself does not have the power to initiate criminal prosecutions.
The U.S. Department of Justice has exclusive prosecutorial power over federal criminal cases and can decide whether to take action on leads referred by Congress.
During Trump’s presidency, the Department of Justice had already deviated from its long-held tradition that criminal investigations and prosecutions should avoid White House influence. The next administration's Department of Justice may still take action based on leads referred by congressional committees during Trump's term.
Additionally, Trump has previously stated that if his aides are subjected to congressional investigations, he would be willing to grant them protective pardons.
The President of the United States has the power to pardon federal crimes but cannot pardon crimes that have not yet occurred. For crimes that have already taken place but have not been formally charged, the President can issue a pardon in advance and does not need to specify which exact crimes are involved.
In 2025, then-President Biden issued a broad range of protective pardons to several family members and government officials in the final hours of his term, citing concerns they might face retaliation from the incoming Trump administration. Trump has referenced this precedent to justify his promise of protective measures for government aides.
Third Impeachment and Personnel Appointments, Trump Facing More Congressional Constraints
The Democratic Party’s regaining control of the House also raises the possibility of Trump facing a third impeachment.
Impeachment must first be initiated in the House of Representatives. If the House passes articles of impeachment by a simple majority, the President is impeached, but that does not mean he is immediately removed from office.
Subsequently, the Senate will hold a trial. Only with the support of two-thirds of the Senate can the President be convicted and removed from office.
Trump was impeached twice in the later half of his first term, both times after the Democrats regained control of the House in the 2018 midterm elections.
In December 2019, the House impeached Trump for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. The accusation at that time was that Trump used military aid to Ukraine as leverage to demand the Ukrainian government investigate Biden and his son Hunter, who was then Trump's political rival.
In January 2021, the House again impeached Trump, accusing him of inciting insurrection. This impeachment was related to the attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, which forced the confirmation process of Biden's victory in the 2020 presidential election to be delayed.
However, after both impeachments, Trump was not convicted in the Senate.
If the Democratic Party decides to initiate a third impeachment process, they still need to face the Senate's two-thirds majority threshold. Even if the House passes the articles of impeachment, it would be nearly impossible to directly push Trump out of office.
In fact, Democratic leaders downplayed the possibility of impeaching the President during the midterm elections and urged candidates to focus on reducing living costs and alleviating the economic burden on working families.
Aside from impeachment, the change in Senate control will directly impact personnel arrangements in the Trump administration.
Cabinet members, Supreme Court and federal court judges, ambassadors, and heads of government agencies and committees nominated by the President typically require Senate confirmation.
Previously, with the Republican Party controlling the Senate, Trump was able to push through the appointments of several controversial figures, including Defense Secretary Mark Esper, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar, and FBI Director Christopher Wray.
While the personnel turnover in Trump's second administration may be relatively small, with the Democratic Party now in control of the Senate, the process for nominating judicial officers and officials in federal executive departments will face more resistance.
Executive Power Remains an Important Policy Tool for Trump
Although the Democratic Party controls both chambers of Congress, Trump is still able to advance a large number of policies through executive action without seeking congressional approval for everything.
Over the past period, Trump has repeatedly used executive power to adjust U.S. policies, including launching military strikes against Iran, imposing and lifting tariffs, significantly reducing federal government staff, and announcing the U.S. withdrawal from the World Health Organization and the 2015 Paris Agreement.
Additionally, the Trump administration has also taken action to bring former Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro to the U.S.
These actions did not go through congressional legislative processes.
Trump has also tested the boundaries of presidential power by issuing numerous executive orders, some of which have been ruled illegal by the courts. This indicates that while presidential executive power is broad, it is still subject to legal and judicial review.
After the Democrats took control of Congress, they can apply greater pressure on the White House through legislative obstacles, investigative oversight, and personnel appointment reviews, but they cannot completely prevent the President from exercising executive power.
In the next two years, American politics will enter a new stage of checks and balances. Trump will face stricter congressional oversight and may also have to compromise with the Democrats on some legislative issues. The Democrats, on the other hand, must balance between investigating the Trump administration, promoting their own policies, and avoiding an all-out confrontation with the White House.
The handover of congressional control does not mean Trump loses his ability to govern, but the situation that the Republican Party could previously rely on a congressional majority to rapidly push policies has fundamentally changed.
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