Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Nov 4: Signalling the United States President Donald Trump’s diminishing popularity and in total repudiation of his policies in the last two years of his second term, the Democrats on Wednesday have taken control of the US Congress in the midterm elections with a landslide of upsets that delivered a crushing rebuke of Mr Trump and his Republican Party.
The outcome is seen as a direct repudiation of President Trump, who urged voters to pretend he was on the ballot. The victory handed Democrats both the House of Representatives and Senate, giving them power to block Mr Trump’s agenda and investigate alleged corruption for the last two years of his presidency. The vote reflected deep anger over living costs, tariffs and Mr Trump’s war against Iran, which has sent fuel prices soaring and compounded dissatisfaction with an already deeply unpopular President.
Most voters appear to blame Trump’s administration for high costs and want Congress to impose more checks on him as the president’s approval ratings languish near record lows. With Democrats controlling both chambers in the midterms, they gain stronger leverage over legislation, investigations and funding. Congress, however, would not automatically take charge of US foreign policy, as President Trump would retain broad executive powers, including the veto.
For India, the stakes are real. Decisions made by Congress and the US government can shape Indian exports, the fortunes of Indian professionals working in America, and bilateral defence cooperation.
Democrats flipped at least seven Senate seats in ruby-red states and battlegrounds alike: Kansas, which hasn’t elected a Democratic senator in nearly a century, Iowa, Texas, Ohio, Maine, North Carolina and South Carolina. They held on to battleground seats in Georgia and Michigan. In the House, Democrats flipped more than two dozen districts, some that voted for Trump by double digits in 2024.
More than 210 million Americans were eligible to vote in the elections which determine all 435 seats in the US House of Representatives, 37 seats in the Senate, 36 governorships and several local public offices. Abortion-rights advocates notched victories in Missouri and Virginia on Tuesday (November 3), and voters delivered a double dose of disapproval to President Donald Trump’s redistricting efforts as they decided 145 ballot questions in more than three dozen states.
A Democratic majority could trigger more debate and legislative activity on tariffs, healthcare, the cost of living and curbs on presidential war powers. Whether any of it becomes law would hinge on the final size of the margins, Senate procedure and how Trump responds.
The US is a major market for Indian goods, so any shift in American tariff policy hits exporters directly. In February, the two countries unveiled a framework for an interim trade agreement, under which the US said it would levy an 18 per cent reciprocal tariff on Indian-origin goods. Since then, the US Supreme Court has struck down Trump’s use of emergency powers to impose tariffs on trading partners worldwide, pulling tariffs down to a baseline of 10 per cent. However, a full India-US deal still looks distant.
The election results could also have an impact on Indian professionals in the US, especially H-1B holders. A shift in control of Congress could influence future immigration legislation and oversight, though it would not necessarily bring immediate changes to visa rules.
Democratic victory could increase congressional scrutiny of immigration rules and put some Republican-backed proposals on hold, even though the outcome would not automatically overturn Trump’s presidential proclamations, including the inclusion of a $100,000 fee for new H-1B visa applications, announced last September.
With Democrats taking control of both chambers, their leverage would grow but policy changes, particularly on foreign relations, which could also concern India, would still be limited by Trump’s power to veto its proposals. The US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had said last week that even with a Democratic House, there would be “very little” they could do to block Trump’s agenda.
Several top world leaders have commented on the Democrats victor in the US midterm elections. The Kremlin on Wednesday expressed hope that the outcome of the US midterm elections would not disrupt President Donald Trump’s efforts to pursue peace, signalling Moscow’s interest in maintaining the US president’s diplomatic initiatives despite the Democrats’ gains in Congress. Speaking in remarks broadcast by Russian state media, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Moscow hoped Trump would continue his efforts to promote peace. “We are sincerely counting on (Trump) continuing his peace-making efforts,” Peskov said.
Washington’s political landscape has undergone a significant shift following the Democrats’ takeover of both chambers of Congress, prompting a sharp reaction from Tehran. Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei urged Iranians not to interpret the electoral outcome as a sign of any imminent softening in US policy towards Iran. In a post on social media platform X, Khamenei said the November 4 developments had reinforced Iran’s understanding of its position towards the United States.
China on Wednesday responded cautiously to the Democrats’ sweeping victory in the US Congress, reaffirming its willingness to work with Washington to uphold and implement the important consensus reached between the leaders of the two countries. “The US midterm elections are a domestic affair,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said during a press briefing in Beijing. Mao said China remained committed to building a constructive relationship with the United States, based on strategic stability, mutual respect, fairness and reciprocity.
The global far-right was “unravelling,” Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Wednesday as he celebrated the Democrat victory in U.S. elections in a rebuke to President Trump. “It happened in Brazil. It just happened in the US. And it will soon happen in Spain,” Mr Sanchez, who is a global progressive star but whose premiership is in peril in snap elections he called for November 29. The far-right wave of his rivals is “no longer growing, it is unravelling,” he added.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said the results from midterm elections in the United States would “introduce a new era in world relations.” “We have seen that the Democrats have taken control of the Senate and of the House, and the people of America have spoken,” Mr Ramaphosa told reporters.