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Month: November 2026

Lame-Duck Session Begins

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Congress has entered its five-week “lame-duck session,” the period between November elections and the beginning of a new Congress in January.

Lame-duck legislative priorities:

Appropriators are hoping to wrap up the final fiscal year 2027 spending bills. Funding talks are on a tight timeline before the December 11 deadline when stopgap funding is set to expire. No one wants another government shutdown, but some Democrats, pointing to their significant victories and upcoming leverage, say they should focus on ending the Iran war before agreeing to any final funding deal.

Meanwhile, Republicans are hoping to make progress on President Trump’s $1.5 trillion defense spending request, a tall order considering the limited time frame. Republicans are in their final stretch of opportunity to push through priority bills before they lose their majority, including talks of a filibuster-proof reconciliation bill which would boost defense spending. However, with only five weeks of session left, a reconciliation bill would be tough to pass through both chambers, especially as Republican attendance is critical. Republicans who have just lost reelection bids, were pushed out by Trump, or are retiring may have less motivation to return for the lame-duck session.

Too Close to Call: 

Votes continue to be counted in several consequential races across the country. In Mississippi, the Democratic Senate nominee Scott Colom is holding a narrow lead over incumbent Republican Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith. In Alaska, Democrat Mary Peltola holds a narrow lead over Republican Senator Dan Sullivan. Winning both seats would bump the Democratic majority up to 56 seats.

New Members Arrive:

Incoming members are arriving for orientation, and leadership elections are beginning in both parties. Republicans hold their leadership elections tomorrow. Speaker Mike Johnson has said he won’t run for House minority leader, clearing the path for a fight between Majority Leader Steve Scalise and Jim Jordan.

Democratic leadership elections are scheduled for next week. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries is expected to run for House speaker, while Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is expected to be elected as Senate majority leader. There have been calls for new leadership, but so far no clear opponents have emerged.

Major White House Shake-Up:

In the aftermath of the midterms, President Trump has ousted his chief of staff, Susie Wiles, and replaced her with Stephen Miller. Miller is best known for orchestrating the administration’s immigration and deportation program.

Agency Departures:

High-profile resignations are expected to ramp up as heads of agencies face the prospect of intense oversight investigations from Congress. Harmeet Dhillon, chief of the Justice Department’s civil rights division, resigned last Thursday. Dhillon was a key player in the Trump administration’s attacks on higher education, as she opened several investigations and lawsuits against universities over admissions practices, free-speech policies, and anti-DEI initiatives.

What we’re reading this week:

What a Democratic Congress Could Mean for Science – The New York Times

What Comes Next?

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In January, Democrats will control both chambers of Congress, significantly expanding their ability to conduct oversight and shape legislative priorities.

Democrats across the country have campaigned to victory on promises of bringing down the cost of living, reversing Medicaid cuts and restoring ACA subsidies, addressing tariffs, and stopping the war in Iran. It’s important to note that with Trump still in office, major legislation will be difficult to pass through a veto-proof majority. However, it sets Democrats up with considerable leverage to push Republicans to address broadly popular issues (like lowering fuel prices) or, put them on record as voting against it.

With Democrats back in the majority, several members of the Washington state congressional delegation, who currently serve as ranking members on their committees, are expected to be stepping into significant new roles. While not confirmed officially, below are potential changes that could happen within the delegation:

  • Senator Patty Murray is expected to become Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, the powerful committee in charge of writing the annual federal funding legislation.
  • Senator Maria Cantwell is expected to become Chair of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee.
  • Rep. Adam Smith is expected to become Chair of the House Armed Services Committee.
  • Rep. Rick Larsen is expected to become Chair of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.
  • Rep. Pramila Jayapal is expected to become Chair of the Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement subcommittee within the House Judiciary committee.

Several other House members have opportunities to gain subcommittee leadership positions.

What do these changes mean?

Committee leadership comes with significant power and authority. Chairs have responsibility to set hearing schedules, determine markup of bills, lead oversight investigations into federal agencies and administrations, and have significant control over general committee staff, resources, and negotiations. These changes position Washington’s Members of Congress in an influential position on a wide range of issues.

When will we officially know new leadership positions?

Congressional Democrats will begin organizing their caucuses and selecting leadership positions between now and the end of December through various processes. On January 3, the 120th Congress begins and the new leadership will take effect.

Democrats Flip House and Senate to Gain Control of Congress

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In a night of stunning upsets, Democrats swept the midterms, winning back the House and Senate, dramatically shifting the balance of power in Washington D.C., and delivering victories across the country in a clear rebuke to President Trump’s administration.

Democrats outperformed their wildest expectations, flipping seats that have been red for decades. Winning back the House by larger margins than expected, the real surprise of the night was a historic blue wave in the Senate, as Democrats flipped seats in Maine, Iowa, Kansas, Ohio, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Texas.

With votes still being counted, the Democrats are on track to win the national House popular vote by 13 percentage points, the largest popular victory in the national congressional vote for either party in 50 years. Ballots are still being counted in Alaska, a key Senate battleground state, and in Mississippi, a race that has emerged as an unlikely tossup, leaving Democrats on track to win 54 to 56 seats.

Democrats won despite Republican gerrymandering efforts that sought to pick up House seats with redrawn district maps in seven states, a massive Republican spending advantage, and President Trump hand-picking several candidates in key elections.

Stay tuned for more analysis and updates.

 

How do the results change Washington’s Congressional Delegation? 

House races have been called for Washington Reps. Suzan DelBene, Rick Larsen, Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, Emily Randall, Pramila Jayapal, Kim Schrier, Adam Smith, and Marilyn Strickland, who will all return for another term. The race has not been called for District 5, where Rep. Michael Baumgartner is running against Democratic challenger Carmela Conroy. In District 4, Republican Amanda McKinney appears likely to win retiring Rep. Dan Newhouse’s seat.

 

Election Day

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Happy Election Day. Voters are headed to the polls today to wrap up a heated midterms election cycle. On the federal level, the results will determine control of Congress for the last two years of President Trump’s final term.

Follow New York Times live coverage here: 2026 Midterm Elections Live Updates.

While polls close tonight, the number of competitive races means that we may not know which party has won control until tomorrow, or even later in the week. Control of the Senate in particular hinges on a small number of battleground races, including the six tossup states of Alaska, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Ohio, and Texas.

What we’re tracking:

  • Georgia and South Carolina are among the earliest polls to close, at 7pm Eastern. Georgia’s Senate race leans Democratic and South Carolina’s race leans Republican. If either of these flip, control of the Senate looks less likely for the losing party.
  • Former Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown is polling a handful of points ahead in Ohio as he competes for the Senate seat once filled by Vice President JD Vance.
  • Former Democratic Governor Roy Cooper has surged ahead in polls and Republicans have pulled back campaign spending in North Carolina, making it a likely pickup seat for Democrats.
  • Arguably the most closely watched battleground races are in Maine, Michigan, and Texas.
  • Iowa and Kansas both have popular moderate Democrats running. Iowa is polling as a tossup, and in Kansas, Republican Senator Roger Marshall is facing a serious challenge from Adam Hamilton. Both would be significant wins for the Democrats.
  • Alaska has the last polls to close, at 1am Eastern. Former Representative Mary Peltola is running against Republican Senator Dan Sullivan. Alaska counts votes slowly due to a large number of mail-in ballots. If control of the Senate depends on Alaska’s results, we may not know the outcome for over a week.