Democrats have won control of both chambers of the US Congress in a sweeping midterm election defeat for President Donald Trump and the Republican Party.
The party captured the House of Representatives and took back the Senate after making striking gains across traditionally Republican states, including Texas, Kansas, Iowa and South Carolina.
By Wednesday afternoon, Democrats had secured control of the House after passing the 218-seat threshold required for a majority, completing their takeover of both chambers of Congress. Dozens of House races were still unresolved.
In the Senate, Democrats and independents who caucus with them had secured 54 seats, comfortably above the 51 needed for an outright majority.
The result will fundamentally change the political landscape in Washington for the remainder of Trump’s presidency, according to the Wall Street Journal. Democrats will be able to block much of his legislative agenda, control congressional committees and launch investigations into his administration.
Their Senate majority will also give them the power to reject presidential nominees, including federal judges.
The scale of the defeat went well beyond the losses normally suffered by a president’s party in midterm elections. Democrats broke through in states that Trump had carried comfortably only two years earlier.
Historic victories in Republican territory
In Texas, Democrat James Talarico defeated Republican Ken Paxton to become the first Democrat in more than three decades to win statewide office there. Democrat Gina Hinojosa also defeated Republican Governor Greg Abbott, becoming both the state’s first Latina governor and its first Democratic governor since the 1990s.
In Kansas, Adam Hamilton defeated incumbent Republican Senator Roger Marshall. Kansas had not elected a Democratic senator since 1932.
Democrats also flipped Republican Senate seats in Iowa, Ohio, North Carolina, South Carolina and Maine, while defending competitive seats in Georgia and Michigan.
Nationwide voter surveys pointed to frustration over the cost of living, inflation, the war with Iran and concerns about government corruption as important factors in the Republican defeat.
About three-quarters of voters described the US economy as either poor or not very good, while roughly eight in ten said inflation had caused at least moderate financial hardship for their households.
Investigations loom over Trump administration
Democratic control of the House gives the party subpoena power and control of committees that can investigate the Trump administration.
Senior Democrats have already signalled that scrutiny of administration officials and the Trump family’s business interests will be among their priorities. Possible impeachment proceedings against Trump or members of his Cabinet have not been ruled out, the Hill reports.
Any attempt to remove Trump from office would still face a much higher barrier. The House can approve articles of impeachment by a simple majority, but conviction and removal require a two-thirds majority in the Senate.
Democratic House leader Hakeem Jeffries is also in line to become the first Black speaker of the House when the new Congress convenes on January 3, provided he is elected by the chamber as expected.
Trump sought to distance himself from the scale of the Republican losses. He told Fox News that he did not regard the result as a personal defeat and blamed the quality of some Republican candidates.
He later congratulated Democrats and said he expected to work with them, while making clear that he was prepared to use his presidential veto against legislation he opposed.
The result therefore leaves Washington facing a markedly different balance of power. Trump retains the presidency and the veto, but the Republican monopoly on federal power has ended and Democrats will control Capitol Hill for the final two years of his term.