The Democratic Party has secured majorities in both houses of the US Congress in the midterm elections, inflicting one of the worst defeats on President Donald Trump’s Republican Party in American electoral history. According to the report, even some disgruntled voters from Trump’s own party voted against him.
The midterms, held two years into a presidency, are widely seen as a gauge of the president’s popularity. Trump took office for a second time in January 2025, and his public approval has reportedly kept falling. Voters were unhappy with the war with Iran, crude oil shortages worldwide, rising prices in the US and unilateral immigration measures.
Voting covered all 435 seats in the House of Representatives, 35 of the 100 Senate seats and 36 state governorships. Before the election, Republicans held a 53-seat majority in the Senate, while Democrats and independents held 47. After the vote, the Democrats hold 54 Senate seats and the Republicans 44. In the House, where 218 seats are needed for a majority, the Democrats have won 231 seats and the Republicans 139.
Only in 1946, 1994 and 2006 since World War II have both houses of Congress passed to the opposition. The Democrats also won Texas after 100 years and Kansas after 94 years, and several traditionally Republican-leaning states voted for the Democrats.
During the campaign, Trump had announced that every citizen would receive $5,000 (about Rs 5 lakh) if the Republicans won, and made several similar announcements. Opposition parties accused him of openly bribing voters. Elon Musk, a staunch Trump supporter, reportedly donated up to Rs 4,800 crore to the Republican campaign. With the Democrats now holding a majority in Congress, Trump will be unable to take decisions unilaterally over the next two years.
