Democrats vow to rein in Trump after winning control of Congress

Democrats are already assured of 54 of the 100 Senate seats, while two seats remain to be allocated in Alaska and Mississippi. In the House of Representatives, they have won 232 of 435 seats, 14 more than the threshold for a majority, with the total potentially reaching about 260, La Presse de Tunisie reports.

Democrats notably won a Senate seat in Texas, where they had not won an election since 1988, by defeating Republican governor Greg Abbott. Kansas elected its first Democratic governor in several decades, according to Daily Maverick. Hakeem Jeffries, the Democratic leader in the House, wants the cost of living and oversight of the administration to be the new majority’s priorities. He could become the first Black speaker of the House.

Donald Trump told the New York Times that he accepted the results and wanted to work with Democrats. On Truth Social, however, he said Republicans would have won by a wide margin if he had been on the ballot and blamed his party’s candidates for the defeat. He also said on Fox News that voters had not understood the importance of his policy towards Iran, according to La Presse de Tunisie.

According to an exit poll conducted by SSRS for a consortium of US media outlets, half of voters viewed the election as an opportunity to rebuke Donald Trump, while 70% want Congress to exercise greater oversight of the executive. The House is expected to launch investigations targeting the president, who will retain his veto power and room for manoeuvre on diplomatic and military matters. The shift in the Senate would also reduce his appointment powers, particularly in the event of a vacancy on the Supreme Court, La Presse de Tunisie reports.