Democrats Win Both Chambers; Trump Faces Congress — SkimNews
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- Democrats won majorities in the House and Senate in Tuesday's midterm elections with "stunning upsets in races nationwide," taking control of the appropriations committees in both chambers that draft annual military and foreign aid bills; before the midterms, top congressional Democrats said they would move to cut funding for the Iran war.
- Brian Finucane, a senior advisor at the International Crisis Group, said attaching a funding prohibition to a must-pass funding bill would be the most effective "mechanism for forcing an end" to either the Iran war or the boat strikes, pointing to 1973, when Congress nearly forced a government shutdown to end Nixon's bombing of Cambodia.
- Trump ordered strikes on alleged drug-trafficking boats near Latin America without congressional approval, and experts say those strikes are illegal under both domestic and international law — an assessment shared by leading congressional Democrats.
- Joshua Shifrinson, a University of Maryland professor, said U.S. bases in the Gulf were heavily hit by Iran and will need rebuilding or relocation — "an appropriations issue 101" — and that funding choices will give Democrats leverage over the U.S. military footprint in Europe, renewed Ukraine aid packages and reduced economic penalties on Moscow.
- U.S. Congress faces hard limits on that leverage: Trump has said he will veto Democratic legislation, a veto override requires two-thirds supermajorities in both chambers, and he is likely to keep advancing his agenda through executive orders, though Senate Democrats can block or delay national security nominees they consider unfit.
- Robert Garcia, set to become House Oversight Committee chair, pledged to investigate the Trump family for alleged crimes, warning "Lawyer up" on Tuesday night; Democratic control of committees also opens hearings and subpoenas on the Iran war, alleged illicit foreign dealings and Venezuela's oil sector, with impeachment of administration officials such as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth among the possibilities.
- Trump conceded the Iran war was a "piece" of why the GOP lost, giving Democrats an opening to pull some Republicans toward war-powers changes; Finucane said the 1973 War Powers Resolution "failed to stop Trump" and that Democrats must lay the groundwork for structural reform, even if near-term reforms are vetoed.
Why it matters: Democrats gain the appropriations purse and committee oversight they lacked under Republican control, making Trump's Iran war and Latin American boat strikes contestable through spending bills and hearings. The leverage has a ceiling: a veto override still requires two-thirds in both chambers, and Trump says he will veto Democratic legislation.
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