Key facts
- Democrats are set to control both houses of Congress, the Washington Post reported, after Republican losses exceeded expectations.
- A Democratic Congress could restrain Trump on Iran war powers, weapons sales to Israel, tariffs and aid to Ukraine, per the Post.
- Iranian parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said on X that "Americans said NO TO WAR," calling the result a verdict on the war.
- Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid said the results eliminate any possibility of a unity government led by Benjamin Netanyahu.
- The Post reported that Israeli elections the previous week denied Netanyahu a straightforward return to power.
Democrats won control of both chambers of Congress in the November 3, 2026 midterm elections, the Washington Post reported on November 4, leaving US allies and adversaries assessing how President Donald Trump will conduct foreign policy with a hostile legislature at home.
The Post reported that capitals from Kyiv to Tehran watched the vote for signs of Washington's direction after two years in which many leaders fell into conflict with Trump. It said Republican losses were greater than many abroad had expected.
With Democrats set to control both houses, the Post reported, a Democratic Congress could try to restrain Trump by imposing war powers limits on Iran, further cutting weapons sales and other aid to Israel, constraining his tariff policies and resuming direct aid to Ukraine.
Trump acknowledged on the night of November 3 that the war in Iran was partly to blame for the Republican losses, the Post reported, while insisting the results were not a disavowal of his presidency.
Iranian parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf wrote on X that "Americans said NO TO WAR, and we endorse this message," adding a warning that a US government serving "international paymasters and blackmailers" would find Iran's refusal came "with a Nightmare."
The Post reported that the results drew close attention in Israel, where the campaign had been dominated by debate over the war, its effect on the US economy, pro-Israel donors and allegations of antisemitism. It said Democratic Senate winners Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan and James Talarico in Texas have pledged to withhold weapons sales to Israel.
Yaakov Katz, a fellow at the Jewish People Policy Institute in Jerusalem, told the Post the Democratic victories could create "a sense of urgency" among Israeli opposition leaders to unite and form a government to replace Netanyahu. The Post reported that Israeli elections the previous week denied Netanyahu a straightforward return to power but did not give challenger Gadi Eisenkot an easy path to a majority.
Yair Lapid said on X that the US results "eliminate any possibility of a unity government led by Netanyahu," adding that Israel "cannot afford to let him remain prime minister." The Post also reported that several leaders from Eisenkot's bloc blamed Netanyahu for damaging Israel's image in the United States.