Democrats take over the House and Senate and open a new cycle of impasse and investigations in Washington

Democrats took control of the House and Senate in the midterm elections, a shift in power in Washington that, according to Fox Business, imposes on President Donald Trump and Republicans a scenario of forced negotiation and intense oversight. In the Chamber, chief correspondent Chad Pergram stated that Democrats already have 228 seats and should end up with more than 240.

The Senate count is not yet complete: according to the channel, the results of Alaska and Mississippi have yet to be defined, the latter decided by a few votes. Pergram recalled that the president's party usually loses around 26 seats in elections of this type, and that history has worked against the Republicans.

What weighed on the defeat

In Pergram's analysis, the result combined an unpopular war, the price of gasoline, the fact that Trump was not on the ballot and the abstention of Republican voters. Candidates considered weak on the Republican side were also mentioned. Among those defeated were Roger Marshall in Kansas and Richard Hudson in North Carolina, who was chairing the House Republican re-election effort. The channel also cited Derrick Van Orden, in Wisconsin, as a parliamentarian aligned with the president in a disputed district.

The program's commentators also pointed out defeats or scares in traditional Republican states, such as Texas and South Carolina. One of them said that voters are furious about the prices of gasoline and food and that, despite the economy doing well in the president's view, people don't feel that in their pockets. Another highlighted that the war with Iran began in the winter, went on pause in the spring and dragged on until the summer, without pleasing either side of the government.

Veto, budget and investigations

Pergram highlighted that the immediate challenge is arithmetic. Trump said he will use the veto pen, but that he is ready to negotiate. To override a House veto, Democrats would need about 50 Republican votes. In the Senate, 67 votes would be needed, a much more difficult task.

The fiscal calendar, however, could force agreements quickly: according to the correspondent, the government is only financed until December 11th. Democrats promise major investigations and should use subpoenas to investigate alleged cases of corruption, even though they have difficulty passing their own agenda, said Pergram. Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries is expected to be the next speaker of the House, and the channel's analysis is that moderates from contested districts, not progressives, gave the party the majority.

Republican internal dispute and the debate over the economy

Republicans choose their leadership next week. There are only two vacancies in the minority, compared to three in the majority. Mike Johnson has said he will run for minority leadership, and Steve Scalise and Jim Jordan have also signaled candidacy. Jordan argues he is better positioned to face Democratic investigations.

The program also discussed the advancement of the left wing of the Democratic Party, with proposals such as Medicare for all and the end of the ICE immigration agency. One of the commentators stated that Republicans will need to present alternatives in healthcare, citing a 13% increase in Obamacare plans, and said that the artificial intelligence data center agenda is sensitive to voters. According to him, those who have investments in AI in their pension plan also experience fees and storage costs.

For the market, the channel's message is one of less legislative predictability: a divided Congress tends to block large tax and spending projects, while the December 11 deadline for government financing and the trajectory of war and gasoline remain points of attention. Fox Business highlighted that it remains to be seen how the situation evolves when the conflict with Iran ends and if prices ease.

Automatically translated from Portuguese.