Democrats have won control of both chambers of the US Congress, according to projections from multiple American networks, in a result commentators are describing as a significant setback for President Donald Trump roughly a year into his second term.

CBS News and NBC News both called the Senate and House for the Democratic Party following Tuesday’s midterm elections, in which all 435 House seats and 35 of the 100 Senate seats were contested. NBC News projects Democrats will hold at least 52 Senate seats and 252 House seats when the new Congress convenes in January, comfortably above the thresholds needed for a majority in each chamber.

A wave into unlikely territory

To take control, Democrats needed a net gain of four Senate seats and three House seats, according to Yahoo News’ live election coverage. Both were achieved, and CBS News described the result as a wave that reached beyond traditionally Democratic strongholds.

Danish broadcaster DR reported that Democrats won Senate races in Texas, Ohio and South Carolina, three states that have reliably sent Republicans to Washington in recent election cycles. NBC News also reported the Michigan Senate race leaning toward Democratic candidate Abdul El-Sayed. Going into election day, Senate Republicans were led by Majority Leader John Thune, while Senate Democrats were led by Chuck Schumer, according to Wikipedia’s overview of the 2026 Senate elections.

Trump says he will accept the result

Trump told the New York Times he was prepared to accept the midterm results and would work with the Democratic-controlled Congress, a notable statement given his repeated, unspecified accusations before the vote that Democrats would attempt to rig the outcome, as reported by Yahoo News.

The president placed the blame for Republican losses on his own absence from the ballot rather than on his party’s candidates or policies.

Would’ve Won If I Was on the Ballot — Donald Trump, President of the United States, quoted by Parade

Trump added that he had no regrets about the Republican candidates he had endorsed during the campaign, even as the party lost ground in both chambers.

With Democrats now holding majorities in both the House and Senate from January, the result sets up a period of divided government in Washington for the remainder of Trump’s term, with the new Congress expected to shape decisions on legislation and oversight that the president had previously advanced with Republican majorities.

This article was researched and drafted with AI assistance and reviewed by Lasse Pedersen before publication. How we use AI

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