Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said Democrats will attach limits on President Donald Trump's administration and the war in Iran to must-pass government funding bills, a day after his party won both chambers of Congress. He offered no plan for getting Trump to sign them.
That is the central problem for the incoming majorities. Democrats will lack the votes to override a veto when the new Congress convenes in early January, so any bill they want enacted needs Trump's signature. Trump said Wednesday he would probably get along with Democrats unless they turned destructive, then reminded reporters that he holds veto power.
Democrats flipped seven Senate seats and will hold at least 54 there. In the House, they will have at least 240 members, well above the 218 needed for control.
Schumer, speaking Nov. 4 at the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee headquarters in Washington, named lowering the cost of living, rooting out corruption and checking Trump as his top goals. He said the war must end, that some Republicans have already sided with Democrats on that, and that the founders gave Congress the power of the purse to restrain a president who wages war without public consent.
whenever Trump defies the will of the American people or the law, we will launch investigations, take him to court and entangle him in legislative razor wire.
Chuck Schumer, Senate Democratic leader
Trump, at an impromptu news conference in the construction zone for his White House ballroom, said the Iran war will go on until whenever he decides to stop it. Schumer said he had not yet talked with the president about how the two branches might cooperate.
Some Democrats want to move before January. Sen. Chris Van Hollen said the current stopgap spending law runs through Dec. 11 and that Democrats should not advance money to keep the war going, calling it illegal and noting that the Vietnam War ended only after Congress cut off funds.
Filibuster and impeachment
Schumer dodged a question on scrapping the Senate filibuster, the rule requiring 60 votes to move a bill toward final passage, saying cutting costs comes first. While House Democrats can pass most measures by simple majority, Senate Democrats will still need some Republican support unless that rule goes.
Trump said he was not worried about a third impeachment and predicted such a move would destroy Democrats. Schumer would not say directly whether Democrats will pursue impeachment of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said not one member of his caucus had raised impeachment with him.
House priorities
Jeffries, the likely next speaker, said Democrats are open to bipartisan deals that deliver real change, starting with affordability. His first targets are the Medicaid cuts and changes Republicans passed in their "big, beautiful" bill and the expanded health insurance subsidies under the Affordable Care Act, which expired as last year ended.
Rep. Ted Lieu of California said House Democrats will drop the Republican hands-off stance on artificial intelligence, holding public hearings and moving legislation to set guardrails on AI and data centers.
Leadership is also shifting. Schumer's office said he will run for majority leader, and no Democrat has announced a challenge. Senate Republican Leader John Thune plans to seek the minority leader post, while House Speaker Mike Johnson plans to leave leadership rather than stay on as minority leader, according to their spokespeople.
