Key facts
- Democrats won control of the Senate and House of Representatives in Tuesday's midterm elections, Reuters reported.
- Trump launched the war with Iran alongside Israel on February 28 without congressional approval, and Democrats voted repeatedly to end it.
- Trump asked for a 67% increase in the military budget, to $1.5 trillion, which Democrats blocked in the Senate.
- US military aid to Israel includes a base $3.8 billion per year, plus billions of dollars more since the October 7, 2023, Hamas attacks.
Democrats secured control of the US Senate and House of Representatives in Tuesday's midterm elections, giving them an important slice of power in Washington after two years of Republican control.
During the campaign, Democrats had argued that Republicans ceded Congress's constitutional war-making and spending powers to the administration of President Donald Trump. They are now expected to curb those powers. Reuters describes five areas where a Democratic Congress could hem in Trump's foreign policy.
Trump did not secure approval from Congress before he launched the war with Iran alongside Israel on February 28, and Democrats have voted repeatedly to end the fighting unless he seeks congressional authorization. One of these resolutions passed both the House and Senate with support from a handful of Republicans, but Trump's administration ignored it. With their new influence, Democrats could cut defense spending or hold up nominations to pressure Trump to obtain permission from Congress to continue the war.
Trump has largely halted direct financial and military aid to Ukraine, which is fighting a Russian invasion, despite broad support for the US assistance from Democratic and Republican lawmakers. Most recently, he has angered members of Congress, including many Republicans, by lifting sanctions on Russian diesel and waiving sanctions on Russian energy, weeks after signing them into law. With control of both chambers starting in January, Democrats will be able to decide what gets voted on and when. That could allow them to approve new aid to Ukraine. Democratic Representative Gregory Meeks of New York, who is likely to chair the House Foreign Affairs Committee, has introduced bipartisan legislation to block Trump's plan to bring Russian diesel back into the global market.
Support for Israel has plummeted among Democrats over its conduct in the Gaza war, which has killed tens of thousands of Palestinian civilians. Democrats could limit or end military aid to Israel, which includes a base $3.8 billion per year, plus billions of dollars more since the October 7, 2023, Hamas attacks. Nearly half of House Democrats voted this summer to cut off aid to Israel. Some of those who voted against that effort, such as Meeks, have backed limits on providing weapons like heavy bombs to Israel.
Trump asked for an unprecedented 67% increase in the military budget this year, to $1.5 trillion, but Democrats blocked it in the Senate. Trump has also withheld or canceled billions of dollars in foreign aid approved by Congress. Many Democrats have been angered by the cuts and say they will try to restore funding.
Trump has been far more aggressive in the western hemisphere than recent presidents, including the US military's ousting of Venezuela's president and more than a year of deadly strikes on boats off the country's coast. Some Democrats have called for investigations and hearings on Trump's actions in Venezuela.