Trump's midterm defeat deprives Tshisekedi of his support in Washington
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Camer.be
The Democrats' victory in the midterm elections of 3 November 2026 deprives Félix Tshisekedi of his main support in Washington, as Congress prepares to investigate the contracts and intermediaries of the Congolese regime. The bet by the DR Congo president on Donald Trump, built on emissaries such as Massad Boulos, is turning into a political dead end, according to Camer.be.
Donald Trump's defeat in the midterm elections of 3 November 2026 deprives Félix Tshisekedi of his main support in Washington, according to Camer.be. The Democrats have retaken the House of Representatives and the Senate, and are preparing to investigate the contracts and intermediaries of the Congolese regime.
For eighteen months, the Kinshasa authorities channelled their relationship with Washington through emissaries rather than through the State Department, the Congolese outlet reports. Massad Boulos, father of Michael Boulos, the husband of Tiffany Trump, became the key man in this channel: he negotiated with Félix Tshisekedi, discussed the Manono lithium mines and convinced the Congolese president to suspend his lobbying contracts in Washington. Around him, the American businessman Erik Prince, founder of Blackwater, signed a security and mining services contract with the Congolese government at the end of 2024, worth several hundred million dollars over five years, while lobbying firms billed millions for results seen as close to nil.
A former senior State Department official quoted by Camer.be describes Massad Boulos as less a mediator than a "lobbyist for Kinshasa": "The United States did not negotiate with the DR Congo. They negotiated with Tshisekedi." Since the loss of Goma and Bukavu, this personal relationship had served as a safety net for the Congolese president.
The shift in Congress comes three days after the Democratic victory, which Donald Trump himself acknowledged on 4 November, and a day before the Democrats announced their intention to hold the American president to account.
