“President Trump has conceded that the Iran war cost Republicans dearly in the midterms. Now he must decide whether to cut his losses and reach a deal — or double down and go back to bombing,” Axios reports.
“All of Trump’s options are problematic.”
Archives for 2026
Moderate Democrats Increase Their Clout
“For much of the midterm campaign, progressive Democratic insurgents commanded the spotlight in the fight to wrest control of Congress, defeating establishment incumbents in primaries, drawing enthusiastic crowds and promising to reorder their party’s priorities and remake American politics once they got to Washington,” the New York Times reports.
“But the path to Democrats’ sweeping victory this week, when they seized control of both chambers of Congress, was paved overwhelmingly by moderates who had spent months persuading voters in Republican-leaning states and competitive congressional districts that they could be trusted to govern and would deliver dissatisfied voters a practical alternative to President Trump.”
Republicans Quickly Turn Against Pete Hegseth
“President Donald Trump may have made the decision to launch the war that tanked voters’ support for the GOP and dealt them a midterm shellacking. But the historic losses are accelerating a push for someone else to take the fall: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth,” CNN reports.
“And the House could vote as soon as next week to impeach the Pentagon’s top leader.”
“Many Republican lawmakers and allies alarmed by Tuesday’s wipeout are moving swiftly to pin blame for the election results on Hegseth, arguing behind the scenes that he played a chief role in convincing Trump to attack Iran with no exit strategy — and no plan for managing the inevitable political fallout.”
GOP Lawmaker Seeks to Limit Gina Hinojosa’s Power
“Texas state Rep. Brian Harrison (R) on Wednesday called on Gov. Greg Abbott (R) to curb Gov.-elect Gina Hinojosa’s (D) power before she is sworn in next year,” The Hill reports.
Said Harrison: “We still have total power in Texas, and we must act like it by using the remaining ten weeks to restore separation of powers and limit the emergency powers that Governor-Elect Hinojosa is set to inherit, which would allow her to destroy liberty in Texas by executive fiat.”
Nithya Raman Wins Los Angeles Mayor Race
“Nithya Raman is projected to win the Los Angeles mayor’s race, according to Decision Desk HQ, ousting incumbent Karen Bass and putting a democratic socialist in charge of the second-largest U.S. city,” Bloomberg reports.
Democrats Find Peace in Size of Majority
“This time last week, the progressive and moderate wings of the House Democratic Caucus were gearing up to battle for influence in what they thought might be a slim governing majority. After surpassing expectations to win as many as 260 seats Tuesday night, members are showing signs of detente,” Politico reports.
“The results of the blowout midterm elections mean that House Democrats’ major ideological contingents will all swell in the next Congress. The centrist New Democrat Coalition is projecting at least 140 members, with the even more moderate Blue Dog Coalition grow to more than 20. The Congressional Progressive Caucus, meanwhile, is expected to have more than 100 members, six of whom identify as democratic socialists.”
“The prospect of having a 30-vote-minimum margin to pass legislation means no one group will come to the table with an obvious edge that would handcuff the likely incoming speaker, Hakeem Jeffries.”
For members: A Bigger Majority, a Different Headache
Democrats Snagged Control Over Trump’s Judicial Picks
“Tuesday’s blue wave gives Democrats an unexpected foothold to leave a mark on the nation’s judicial system — including the Supreme Court,” the Washington Sun reports.
“After two years of Republicans approving President Donald Trump’s judicial picks, the Democrats in January will seize control of the confirmation process for the last two years of his presidency.”
Mamdani Says Dems Must Keep Their ‘Foot On the Gas’
“New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani — one of the most influential members of the Democratic Party’s leftward flank — said Wednesday that ‘this country has elected a new generation of leadership’ in the midterms, and the left must now keep its ‘foot on the gas,'” CBS News reports.
Said Mamdani: “Going through yesterday evening, it’s a realization that it’s a new dawn in America.”
Trump Asking Advisers if Hegseth Should Stay
“President Trump has been asking advisers around him and on the phone whether Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth should stay in his job, following Republicans’ catastrophic losses Tuesday night,” CBS News reports.
New York Post: Trump weighs making Pete Hegseth the fall guy for Republicans’ crushing midterm loss: “Knives are definitely out for him.”
Voters of Color ‘Driving Force’ of Epic Blue Wave
“Tuesday’s Blue Wave was powered by voters of color,” Time reports.
“That’s a key takeaway strategists in both parties are clocking as they pore through the results. In a memo… soon to circulate among the Democratic National Committee’s bigwigs, two of the Democratic Party’s veteran strategists argue that the blowout would not have been possible without that crucial realignment, one that has enormous consequences for 2028’s presidential field.”
Pentagon Priorities in Peril After Democrats’ Sweep
“Tuesday’s election was great for Democrats. It was bad for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and some of the White House’s most ambitious national security projects,” Axios reports.
“Republicans have relied on a simple-majority funding mechanism known as reconciliation to pay for marquee projects like Golden Dome. That option is now a long shot over the next few months, and impossible after that.”
“Outrage over the Iran war, well beyond the half-year mark, is sure to turbocharge a long list of congressional inquiries.”
Democrats Plot Ways to Rein in Trump
“Democrats in Congress gained the power Tuesday night to more forcefully investigate President Trump and rein in his agenda, setting up confrontations that are likely to define the final two years of his presidency,” the Los Angeles Times reports.
“As party leaders on Wednesday celebrated retaking the House and Senate, they vowed to put Trump and his administration on the defensive with subpoenas and hearings, a role that voters made clear they want them to play. But they also said the top priority would be the issue that carried them to power: making life more affordable.”
Said Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY): “We are going to work hard to drive costs down with the president or without him, period.”
Democrats Flip Texas House Amid Generational Wave
“Democrats seized control of the Texas House in Tuesday’s midterms for the first time in more than two decades, capping a night in which voters ousted Gov. Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and left Republicans reeling in a state that has long anchored national GOP politics,” Texas Tribune reports.
“With Gina Hinojosa headed to the governor’s mansion, Democrats have broken the Republican trifecta that has governed Texas since 2003, the year the GOP took control of the lower chamber. Republicans held onto the state Senate, denying Democrats a trifecta of their own, but the party will have more power to set the state’s agenda than it has had since the mid-1990s.”
How Democrats Coalesced Around the Economy
“Democrats won control of both chambers of Congress, a majority of governorships and more in a massive midterm rebuke of President Trump. In doing so, they pulled off a feat that has bedeviled them for years: uniting around a message—affordability,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
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Democratic Wave Swept Statehouses Across the Country
“The Democratic surge on Tuesday netted at least 330 state legislative seats, from New Hampshire to Arizona, giving the Democrats full control of 22 state governments and making them the majority in a dozen statehouse chambers where they had been the minority party,” the New York Times reports.
“And while Washington remains divided, Democrats will have the power to make policy on health care, voting and taxation in state capitals that for years have been far beyond their control, such as Texas, Georgia and North Carolina.”
“In Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota, Pennsylvania and Nevada, Democrats will hold both statehouse chambers as well as the governorship. The party was on the verge of the same ‘trifecta’ in Arizona as well.”
Nikki Haley Tells Republicans Not to Whine
“Nikki Haley tells Republicans its not the time to whine after they took a historic thumping during the midterm elections Tuesday,” The Wrap reports.
Said Haley: “To my fellow Republicans, this is not the time to whine, complain, or point fingers. You can’t blame media, you can’t blame academia, you can’t blame Hollywood. All of those have been against us for years before, and we’ve won. The bottom line is, Republicans didn’t listen to the American people; they listened to Washington, D.C.”
Another Bonus Quote of the Day
“To call it a wave, I don’t think would be fully accurate. It’s the political equivalent of a meteor strike that went all around the United States, blue states, red states, everything in between.”
— Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), quoted by Politico.
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Taegan Goddard
Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire -- which for more than two decades has been one of the nation's most influential political news sites.
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