Donald Trump’s Republican party have had their MAGA pants pulled down in the US midterm elections, losing control of both Houses of Congress. The Democrats swept to victory overnight (November 3), winning several Senate seats in traditionally Republican states including Texas, Kansas and South Carolina.
The result is a hammer blow for the 80-year-old US President, who now faces a much tougher final two years in the White House, and in an America where he is now deeply unpopular.
Responding to what many are seeing as his biggest humiliation yet, Trump has vowed to fight back, warning that he will veto any legislation he considers “insane”.
Speaking to Fox News after the results emerged, he said: “They’ll send over things that are insane. And I’ll veto them. And after a couple of months of vetoes, they’ll call. And they’ll say, how do we get this stuff done? And we’ll work together.”
So what exactly happened, how much trouble is Trump in and could he even be kicked out of office?
What are the midterms and what happened?
Every four years, Americans elect a president. But halfway through that term, they also vote in the midterm elections, deciding who controls Congress (which is roughly the US equivalent of our Parliament).
Congress has two chambers: the House of Representatives, with 435 seats, and the Senate, with 100.
Before Tuesday’s vote, Trump’s Republicans controlled both, which made things easy for him to pass laws and push through his agenda.
But Democrats will now have control of both chambers from January in what is being called a ‘blue wave’, with voters apparently being frustrated by rising living costs, the war in Iran and Trump’s handling of the country.
What does it mean for Trump?
In short, Trump’s life is about to get way more difficult.
Major new laws generally need approval from both chambers of Congress, meaning rival Democrats can now block many of his proposals. They can also launch investigations into Trump and his administration, demand documents and summon officials for questioning.
And now with Democrats controlling the important Senate, they have the power to reject his nominations for things like senior government positions and federal judges.
However, Trump still holds the keys to several presidential powers, including in areas like immigration, foreign policy and trade.
He can also continue issuing executive orders, although these can face legal challenges and don’t simply override laws passed by Congress.
Can Democrats stop Trump’s bonkers plans?
The new landscape of American politics means that Trump no longer has free reign over the laws of the land, as in many cases if Trump wants to pass a controversial new piece of legislation, Democrats can simply refuse to approve it.
They can also use their control over government spending to challenge his priorities, although that could lead to bitter budget battles and even government shutdowns.
However, not everything Trump does requires a vote to take place in Congress.
As reported by Reuters, he has already relied heavily on executive orders and other presidential powers to pursue his agenda, and is likely to continue doing so.
In other words, Democrats can make his life miserable, but they can’t stop him doing everything.
Can’t he just veto everything?
Annoyingly for the Democrats, Trump does hold some powers that will make it harder for them to pass all the new laws they want.
Trump has the power to veto legislation passed by Congress, effectively refusing to sign it into law and although Congress can override a presidential veto, this needs a two-thirds majority in both chambers, meaning Democrats would need considerable (and unlikely) Republican support.
In an interview with CBS News before the results came in, Trump even welcomed the nickname “Mr. Veto”,and said he was sure his powers would allow him to keep pushing his agenda.
Could Trump be impeached?
The elections results make it far more likely that Trump will be impeached again, although actually removing him from office would be much harder.
Impeachment is the American process for formally accusing a president of serious wrongdoing.
The House of Representatives can impeach Trump with a simple majority vote, meaning Democrats now have the numbers to do so without Republican help.
However, the Senate would then have to convict him by a two-thirds majority before he could be removed from office, which would require substantial and unlikely Republican support.
Trump has already been impeached twice, in 2019 and 2021, but was acquitted by the Senate both times.
A third impeachment is now possible, although Democrats have not yet committed to pursuing one.
Is Trump finished?
Trump remains President until January 2029, and the Democrats’ victory doesn’t change that, although with Congress now in opposition hands, passing major new laws could become extremely difficult.
He is also barred from running for a third term, meaning attention will increasingly turn to the 2028 presidential election and potential successors, including Vice President JD Vance, and the current mood clearly indicates that America isn’t exactly keen for more of the same or more MAGA.
Some reports have indicated that, were the Democrats to win the next election, Trump could face such a swathe of charges that he may be forced to consider fleeing the country.