With Democrats capturing control of both chambers of the U.S. Congress on Tuesday, the party will have new powers that will allow for more oversight and investigations into U.S. President Donald Trump’s Republican administration.
But there are legislative limits to those powers that could hinder efforts to reverse Trump’s tariffs and end the Iran war.
Tariffs
After Democrats take control of the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate in January, they could introduce legislation aimed at reining in Trump’s tariffs. Trump, however, retains presidential veto powers that can only be overridden with two-thirds support in both chambers of Congress.
Securing a two-thirds supermajority would require significant bipartisan support from the Democrat’s Republican rivals. While the Democrats have secured majorities in both chambers of Congress, those majorities are far from the 290 House votes and 67 Senate votes needed to override a presidential veto. Democrats would also need at least 60 votes in the Senate to overcome any Republican attempts at filibustering proposed legislation.
While that’s a steep hill for the Democrats to climb, CTV News political analyst Eric Ham notes that with voters frustrated by rising prices, several Republicans previously crossed party lines to support resolutions aimed at overturning tariffs on Canada.
“Democrats said, once they take back control of Congress, the first thing that they’re going to do is rescind all of the president’s tariffs, as well as trying to revoke many of his trade authorities,” Ham told CTV’s Your Morning on Wednesday.
“We saw a number of Republicans actually crossed the aisle to support Democrats in passing many of those resolutions [before], so I think we could see Republican lawmakers also work with Democrats to get things done.”
Speaking to Fox News on Tuesday, Trump said he has every intention of using “the power of veto” to block legislation and force Democrats to cut deals with his administration.
“They’ll send over things that are insane and I’ll veto them,” Trump told Fox News’ Bret Baier. “And after a couple of months of vetoes, they’ll go out and they’ll say, ‘How do we get this stuff done?’ And we’ll work together.”
Iran war
Democrats face the same legislative hurdles if they want to force an end to the Iran war. Overcoming Trump’s veto power would still require a two-thirds majority and significant Republican support.
The newly elected representatives and senators also do not take office until Jan. 3, potentially giving Trump a free hand to continue escalating the conflict for another two months.
Once Democrats do take control of Congress in January, they could use their legislative powers to halt new funding for the conflict, but that would also require at least some Republican backing to override potential Senate filibustering or a presidential veto.
Blocking nominations
One of the Democrats’ most important new powers will be their ability to block or stall Trump’s nominees for top government posts. A Senate majority is needed to confirm executive posts such as cabinet officials, ambassadors, heads of government agencies and federal judges, including Supreme Court justices.
Democratic senators could also potentially leverage this power to gain concessions and compromises from the Trump administration. During former U.S. president Barack Obama’s second term, the Republican-controlled Senate notably used these powers to block Obama’s Supreme Court nominee.
Oversight and investigations
With control of Congress, the Democrats will also control congressional committees that have the power to launch investigations, demand documents, subpoena witnesses and hold public hearings – all without White House approval. Potential targets for congressional investigations could include the Trump family’s business dealings, the Iran war, funding of Trump’s White House ballroom project and the handling of the Jeffrey Epstein scandal.
Such investigations could expose wrongdoing and provide more oversight and scrutiny of the Trump administration. But if Democrats uncover any potential criminal activity, it would still be up to the Trump-controlled U.S. Department of Justice to press charges. Trump administration officials could also refuse to comply with congressional investigations, setting the stage for potentially lengthy legal battles.
Impeachment
After Democrats secured control of the House of Representatives in the 2018 midterms during Trump’s first presidency, they pursued impeachment charges twice: once in 2019 for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress, and once in 2021 for inciting insurrection over the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. In both instances, Trump was acquitted in Senate votes.
House Democrats could potentially pursue Trump’s third impeachment this time around, although party leaders have not made this a stated priority. Moreover, actually removing a sitting president from office requires a two-thirds supermajority vote in the Senate, which has never happened before.
With files from CNN, AFP and The Associated Press
