Key facts
- Democrats are widely expected to win a House majority, the Kyiv Independent reported, while Senate control is less certain.
- Senate passage of major legislation generally requires 60 votes, so a 51-seat Democratic majority would still need Republican support.
- Overriding a presidential veto requires a two-thirds supermajority in both chambers, a threshold the report said Democrats are unlikely to reach.
- Lawmakers could attach Ukraine measures to must-pass defense bills, said Daniel Hamilton of the Brookings Institution.
- Representative Mike Levin said Democrats would use legislative and oversight tools to hold the administration accountable on Ukraine aid.
- Representative Gregory Meeks, ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, pledged bipartisan work, according to the report.
US voters will elect all 435 members of the House of Representatives and about one-third of the 100 Senate seats on November 3, 2026, with control of both chambers at stake. The Kyiv Independent reported that Democrats are widely expected to win a House majority for the first time since 2020, while their odds in the Senate are steeper but not insurmountable.
Even with 51 Senate seats, Democrats would need Republican support to reach the 60 votes required to overcome a filibuster. The report noted that senators passed the Lindsey Graham Act on Russia sanctions in August 2026 with 86 votes, showing a bipartisan majority on Ukraine can form, though it said that consensus cannot be taken for granted when Republican lawmakers are asked to challenge Trump.
James M. Lindsay of the Council on Foreign Relations told the outlet that most lawmakers hesitate to oppose a president of their own party. He said Congress has a poor record of overturning presidential vetoes, especially in foreign affairs, and that some presidential powers over negotiations are beyond Congress's power to direct.
Daniel Hamilton of the Brookings Institution said lawmakers could attach Ukraine measures to must-pass legislation such as defense appropriations bills or the National Defense Authorization Act, daring Trump to veto a bill that funds the Defense Department. The report also cited the Pentagon's months-long delay of $400 million in Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative assistance earlier in 2026 despite congressional authorization.
On sanctions, the report said Trump issued a broad waiver of the Graham sanctions on October 16, 2026, days after the Treasury lifted restrictions on Russian diesel purchases. It also said Trump met Zelensky in the Oval Office in February 2025 and hosted Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska later that year.
Representative Mike Levin told the outlet Democrats would use every legislative and oversight tool to hold the administration accountable and ensure Ukraine receives security assistance. Representative Gregory Meeks, ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, pledged to work with lawmakers from both parties, according to the report.