By — Liz Landers Liz Landers By — Winston Wilde Winston Wilde Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/midterm-voters-rebuke-trump-handing-democrats-both-chambers-of-congress Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Transcript Audio Voters delivered a sweeping rebuke of President Trump and his party in the midterms, handing Democrats major victories and dramatically reshaping the balance of power in Washington. Trump now enters a lame duck phase of his second term, promising both to use his veto power, and also to work across the aisle as he faces the largest Democratic majorities in decades. Liz Landers reports. Read the Full Transcript Notice: Transcripts are machine and human generated and lightly edited for accuracy. They may contain errors. Geoff Bennett: Well, it was a Democratic tsunami at the ballot box. Voters have delivered a sweeping rebuke of President Trump and his party in the 2026 midterms, handing Democrats major victories across the country and dramatically reshaping the balance of power in Washington. Amna Nawaz: Mr. Trump now enters a lame-duck phase of his second term, promising both to use his veto…
Midterm voters rebuke Trump, handing Democrats both chambers of Congress
In short
Historic Democratic victories across traditional battlegrounds and conservative strongholds dismantled Republican control over the legislative branch. In Texas, Democrats secured both the governorship and a Senate seat for the first time in nearly four decades. Party leaders blamed surging consumer costs tied to the war in Iran for alienating voters at the polls. Trump acknowledged that high prices served as the primary catalyst behind the severe midterm losses.
Key points
- Democrats secured commanding majorities in both chambers of Congress to dramatically alte…: Democrats secured commanding majorities in both chambers of Congress to dramatically alter the balance of power.
- Republican leaders described the devastating election outcome as an existential reckoning…: Republican leaders described the devastating election outcome as an existential reckoning for their party's future.
- Elevated consumer prices fueled by the conflict in Iran emerged as the decisive issue for…: Elevated consumer prices fueled by the conflict in Iran emerged as the decisive issue for voters.