The Democratic Party has won control of both the Senate and the House of Representatives in the 2026 US midterm elections, according to Al Jazeera. The outlet reports that Democrats hold 53 Senate seats and are ahead in three more of the chamber's 100, while The Associated Press has called the House for the party after it passed the 218-seat threshold in the 435-member chamber.
Al Jazeera describes the result as a striking upset, with Democrats turning several seats that had long eluded them, including some previously held by President Donald Trump's Republican Party. It marks the first time since Barack Obama's second term that a sitting president has entered a midterm cycle and emerged without either chamber under his party's control.
Vote counting is not finished. Al Jazeera notes that a number of races remain too close to call and that final results may not be settled for several days.
Why it matters
Control of Congress gives Democrats two levers they did not have before: the ability to block the president's appointments and the power to run investigations. Al Jazeera reports that Trump has himself acknowledged that his opponents ran the stronger campaign, and several Democrats have framed the outcome as a verdict on his presidency.
The practical consequences stretch beyond Washington. Both chambers vote on legislation and approve government spending, so a Democratic majority can shape what reaches the president's desk — and what does not.
What a Senate majority delivers
Al Jazeera reports that the Senate's exclusive role in confirming the president's nominees is among the most consequential powers Democrats now hold. A Democratic majority can refuse to confirm Trump's picks for ambassadorships, cabinet positions and federal judgeships, including seats on the Supreme Court.
Majority status also hands Democrats the chairmanship of Senate committees, which can open investigations, compel the production of documents and call witnesses to testify. Al Jazeera reports that Senator Richard Blumenthal, currently the ranking Democrat on the Senate's Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, is expected to take the chair after Tuesday's vote. He told Reuters in September that Democrats would use their subpoena authority, saying: "We will use our subpoena power, absolutely."
The Senate also holds a separate constitutional role: if the House impeaches a president or senior official, the Senate conducts the trial that could end in removal from office. Trump was impeached twice during his first term, in 2019 and 2021, and the Senate acquitted him both times.
Investigations, vetoes and the limits of power
Al Jazeera reports that Democrats campaigned on ending the war with Iran, lowering living costs and holding the administration to account over alleged abuses of power. Delivering on those promises will be harder than winning the seats.
Legislation needs passage in both chambers before a president can sign it, and Trump has signalled he intends to use his veto freely, telling a podcast on Monday: "I'll veto everything." Al Jazeera notes that even broadly popular measures, such as an increase to the minimum wage, would face that obstacle. Overriding a veto requires two-thirds majorities in the House and the Senate, which would mean persuading some Republicans to break ranks.
Investigations face fewer formal barriers, since congressional inquiries do not need White House sign-off. Laura Blessing, a senior fellow at Georgetown University's Government Affairs Institute, told Al Jazeera by email that oversight is where Democratic activity will be most visible, measured in time and coverage. She said she does not expect the president's immediate family to comply with subpoenas, but pointed to other potential witnesses, including government employees and people connected to Trump's inner circle.
Al Jazeera reports that Democratic senators have already been preparing, sending letters to companies and federal departments asking them to preserve records. The subjects raised so far include private donations Trump solicited for a White House ballroom and claims of politically motivated investigations.
There are limits to what oversight can achieve. Al Jazeera reports that administration officials could contest Senate subpoenas in court, potentially stalling inquiries for months or years. Evidence of possible crimes can be referred to prosecutors, but the Justice Department under Trump would decide whether to bring charges. Impeachment remains an option if wrongdoing is established, though no US president has ever been removed from office through that process.
Al Jazeera also notes that Trump's family has spent the past two years expanding its business interests into areas including cryptocurrency, drones, artificial intelligence and prediction markets, and that financial disclosure forms released this year put the president's personal wealth up by an estimated $2.2bn.
What to watch
The remaining undecided races will settle the final size of the Democratic majority, and the first test of the new Congress will be how quickly its committees move from letters to subpoenas.
