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For the Democratic Party, election night felt like a surreal dream. But come January, reality will set in.
They certainly had reason to celebrate on Tuesday night; with a resounding victory, the Democrats are set to take control of both the House and the Senate next year.
Hakeem Jeffries, the Democratic leader in the U.S. House of Representatives, declared with excitement: "Today, the great American revival begins."
During the campaign, Democrats pledged to investigate corruption, lower the costs of healthcare, groceries, and gasoline, and curb the expansion of war with Iran. Now, they face the much harder task of turning those promises into action.
However, a shift in the balance of power in Washington does not mean the Democrats can immediately check off every item on their legislative wish list. While they may control Congress, Republican President Donald Trump still holds the power to veto legislation.
In an interview with the BBC, U.S. Senator Chris Coons warned that Democrats should not view these results as a "mandate," noting that the party remains "deeply unpopular."
"We have to prove that we can get things done-that we can truly address people's concerns about low wages and the rising cost of living."
What can the Democrats do?
Representative Robert Garcia of California is set to lead a powerful House oversight committee-a panel that could make the final two years of Donald Trump's term quite difficult.
As the election results rolled in, Garcia issued a statement: "Better get a lawyer."
Committees in both the House and the Senate possess investigative powers, which can be used to probe the President and his inner circle over issues such as potential conflicts of interest.
On Tuesday, Garcia outlined a long list of potential targets for investigation, including the Trump family, "corporate corruption," alleged abuses of power within the Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and the government's handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files. The Senate also holds the power to confirm or block the president's cabinet and judicial nominees.
For instance, should a vacancy arise on the Supreme Court during a Trump presidency, a Democratic-controlled Senate could block his nominees-or compel him to select more moderate candidates capable of garnering bipartisan support.
The House of Representatives possesses the power to impeach the president, which serves as the initial step in the congressional process for removing a public official from office.
During Donald Trump's first term, the Democrats initiated impeachment proceedings twice, yet the Senate ultimately acquitted him on both occasions.
However, because a conviction in an impeachment trial requires a two-thirds majority in the Senate-that is, 67 votes-it remains virtually impossible for the Democrats to remove the president from office, even if they were to regain control of Congress.
Within the Democratic Party, there is an ongoing debate over whether to pursue impeachment once again.
The first impeachment, in 2019, intensified partisan polarization and allowed Trump to cast himself as a victim of political persecution-a narrative that arguably bolstered his subsequent bid for the White House.
As the Democratic leader in the House, Hakeem Jeffries would effectively need to greenlight any impeachment effort; however, his position on the matter remains unclear.
In August, he told CNN: "We haven't ruled anything in, and we haven't ruled anything out."
What challenges would the Democrats face?
Even before the election, public dissatisfaction with the efficiency of Congress was stark. An October Gallup poll indicated that only 14% of registered voters approved of the job performance of members of Congress.
Yet, with a Republican president and a Democratic-controlled Congress, the political gridlock in the United States could well intensify.
Casey Burgat, a professor of legislative affairs at George Washington University, noted: "If you thought legislating was difficult when Republicans held full control, it's only going to get more complicated from here."
Given that the Democrats hold a relatively solid majority in both the House and the Senate, passing legislation within those chambers is not the primary challenge.
The real difficulty lies in ensuring that such legislation is actually enacted into law. Most bills require the president's signature to become law. Trump has the authority to veto legislation he opposes, and for Congress to override such a veto, it would need a supermajority in both chambers-a threshold far beyond what the Democrats could reach, even with a major victory on Tuesday.
On Tuesday evening, as the Republican Party saw a string of losses in Senate races, Trump struck a conciliatory tone in an interview with *The New York Times*.
"We're going to work with the Democrats; we look forward to working with them," he said. "We'll probably be able to figure things out."
Yet, just minutes later, Trump posted an image on his social media platform, Truth Social, featuring a red campaign-style hat emblazoned with the word "VETO."
This kind of contradictory stance is likely to become the norm in his future interactions with a Democratic-led Congress.
On Tuesday night, Democratic lawmakers acknowledged that while opposition to Trump was a key driver of their electoral success, it would not be enough on its own.
"This election, in large part, represents a rejection of Donald Trump and his policies by the voters," one Democrat conceded.
But he also warned, "If we go too far, or if our internal infighting becomes too intense, we risk squandering this moment."
Despite the threat of a presidential veto, Hakeem Jeffries has indicated that Democrats intend to restore healthcare funding previously cut by Republicans-including support for Medicaid, which serves low-income individuals, and subsidies for the Affordable Care Act ("Obamacare") marketplace.
"Reversing the cuts to Medicaid and extending the tax credits under the Affordable Care Act are among the top priorities for House Democrats," Jeffries said at an event for healthcare workers this past September.
Negotiations could also break down over issues that might otherwise enjoy bipartisan support-such as the cost of living, AI regulation, a re-examination of military aid to Israel, and efforts to limit involvement in conflicts involving Iran.
Now in the congressional minority, Republicans may be unwilling to help Democrats secure significant legislative victories ahead of the 2028 presidential election.
Furthermore, cracks could emerge within the Democratic Party itself. Differences in position within the party-particularly regarding the issue of Israel-may make it more difficult to reach a consensus.
During the midterm elections, the Democratic Party experienced internal divisions over whether to continue providing military aid to Israel.
Newly elected officials, such as Abdul El-Sayed (a federal senator-elect from Michigan) and several newly elected members of the House of Representatives, indicated during their campaigns that they would support legislation to place restrictions on aid to Israel.
However, they may face resistance from the Democratic Party leadership.
Another challenge lies in how to constrain Donald Trump's foreign policy.
Even with a Democratic majority in Congress, this task remains far from easy.
Prior to the midterm elections, both parties in Congress had made several attempts to limit Trump's authority to continue hostilities against Iran. Some of these proposals even passed in one or both chambers; for instance, in June of this year, both the House and the Senate passed resolutions calling for an end to, or the cessation of,, hostile actions against Iran.
Although Trump lacked the power to veto these resolutions, they were never actually implemented. The White House maintains that Trump possesses broad authority to continue military operations.
Scott Anderson, a senior fellow in Governance Studies at the Brookings Institution, notes that whether Congress has the power to compel Trump to alter his policies remains an "unresolved legal question."
He adds, "Congress could potentially resolve this issue through litigation, forcing the courts to provide an answer."
