A new age of Democratic power is coming to Washington.
The party Tuesday swept both chambers of Congress as Republicans faced generational-level losses across the country. As of publication time, Democrats have won at least 54 Senate seats and have flipped about 20 House seats, with many competitive races still uncalled. Voters pummeled the GOP out of power and effectively cemented President Donald Trump’s lame-duck era.
Ahead of the election, most senior House Democrats dared not imagine more than a 10-seat majority. Now it’s looking like 250 seats or more are not out of the question — all but assuring Hakeem Jeffries will cruise to the speakership.
In the Senate, Democrats won Kansas for the first time in nearly a century, sent a Texan to the chamber after a more than 30-year absence, broke a nearly 30-year losing streak in South Carolina and elected the first Iowan in more than a decade.
They could even be on the cusp of a Mississippi Senate seat for the first time in roughly four decades. Scott Colom has a less than 50-vote lead on Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith as we write. The Alaska race between incumbent Sen. Dan Sullivan and Mary Peltola also remains in tossup territory.
Longtime GOP incumbents like Maine Sen. Susan Collins and Missouri Rep. Ann Wagner are out of jobs. NRCC Chair Richard Hudson is hanging by a thread, as is House Rules Chair Rep. Virginia Foxx — both caught in a ticketwide GOP collapse in North Carolina.
Also decimated: the corps of Republican moderates on Capitol Hill, including Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania and Jen Kiggans of Virginia.
The massive gains in both chambers, unthinkable even a few months ago, will have an instant impact. Republicans’ hopes to check off a list of priority legislation in the lame-duck session are in jeopardy, and they will quickly have to confront questions about their leadership.
Trump’s once ironclad grip over Washington is also in question, as he can no longer flex his influence over a Republican-led Congress willing to bend to his whims and waive away allegations of his administration’s corruption. Some in his party are also beginning to contemplate their future after he leaves the White House.
“Voters all across America have spoken, and this is a wake-up call for all conservatives,” said South Carolina Rep. Ralph Norman, arguing the GOP needed to “start governing on the core principles they campaigned on.”
What else we’re watching:
— GOP LEADERSHIP HAZY: Speaker Mike Johnson’s political future is now up in the air with the House majority lost under his watch. Several Republicans prior to the election doubted he would jump into the race to become minority leader. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise and Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan could jump into the running to become the top House Republican as soon as Wednesday, ahead of a Friday deadline to announce their candidacy. The GOP conference will vote next week. Trump, pressed on whether he backs Johnson to return as minority leader, did not answer directly. “I think he’s done a very good job,” Trump told POLITICO Tuesday night. “I mean, they’re going to have to make that decision. He’s going to have to make that decision. But he’s a good person and a good man.” Many House Republicans were already speculating early this morning if the entire leadership team could get swept up in the GOP loss.
— ‘LAWYER UP’: DEMS READY PROBES — Democrats’ sweep of Congress sets the stage for an unrelenting oversight platform next year. Democrats plan to use their new subpoena power and agenda-setting authority to target possible corruption among members of Trump’s family, Elon Musk’s leadership of the Department of Government Efficiency and the Department of Homeland Security’s aggressive immigration enforcement tactics, according to interviews with more than a dozen lawmakers, aides and attorneys. “LAWYER UP,” California Rep. Robert Garcia, the top Democrat on House Oversight, posted on social media Tuesday as the party’s House majority was coming into focus.
Dasha Burns, Mia McCarthy and Chris Marquette contributed to this report.