Democrats win control of Congress in midterms, setting up a fight over US climate policy

Summary

Democrats won a commanding victory in Tuesday's US midterm elections and by Wednesday morning had secured control of both the Senate and the House, as well as several state governments, according to Grist. Grist says the showing was driven in part by voter anger over inflation and the war in Iran, and that it reached into Republican strongholds such as Ohio and South Carolina. Scientific American reports that Democrats swept Congress and also won in red states. Even with Donald Trump still in the White House, Grist says control of Congress would let Democrats hinder his efforts to roll back federal climate policy. Democrats could issue subpoenas to force administration officials to testify and could even impeach administration figures over funding clawbacks and staff cuts they call unlawful. Grist also reports that Democrats would control must-pass funding bills, which could restore some energy and climate resilience funding, and that the party could seek to reimpose some clean energy tax credits Republicans rescinded last year. The Japan Times reports that Democrats are expected to step up scrutiny of the Trump administration's record on the environment. State-level votes were still being counted, and Grist says turnover there may prove even more significant.

Timeline

1. Grist

   4 Nov 2026, 05:10 UTCSource ↗

   Grist reports that as of Wednesday morning Democrats had secured control of the Senate, the House and several state governments, and that control of Congress would give them leverage to hinder Trump's rollbacks of federal climate policy.

2. Scientific American

   4 Nov 2026, 16:56 UTCSource ↗

   Scientific American reports that Democrats swept Congress and won in red states, and highlights the races that matter most for decarbonization, disasters and data centers.

3. The Japan Times

   4 Nov 2026, 22:09 UTCSource ↗

   The Japan Times reports that after the Tuesday election win, Democrats are expected to step up scrutiny of the Trump administration's record on the environment.