Democratic control of the House and Senate could bring closer congressional scrutiny of President Donald Trump’s handling of the conflicts in Iran and Ukraine during his final two years in office. The shift may also give Democrats more influence over spending and legislation, while leaving the president substantial latitude in foreign policy, experts told CNBC.
The Associated Press projected that Democrats would win a Senate majority after flipping Republican-held seats in Iowa, Kansas, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina and Texas. Democrats also gained control of the House, widening their ability to investigate the administration and challenge its agenda.
Laurel Rapp, director of Chatham House’s U.S. and North America Programme, said Congress could constrain the administration through oversight and investigations, but that the president would retain considerable foreign-policy authority. She described the Iran war as a major election issue amid rising fuel and food costs and inflation. The conflict began with joint U.S. and Israeli strikes launched by Trump on Feb. 28.
Democrats could use Congress’s control over spending to try to limit military and other costs related to Iran. They could also pass legislation aimed at ending U.S. involvement in the conflict, although overriding a presidential veto would require enough votes in Congress to do so. Rapp cautioned that it remains uncertain whether efforts to restrict the administration’s war powers would bind it.
J.C. Lintzenich, a visiting senior fellow at the German Marshall Fund, said the election changed Congress, not the president. He noted that the United States still faces unresolved issues involving Iran and Russia’s war against Ukraine, and that foreign policy remains in the hands of the president and his appointed officials.
Lintzenich said a more assertive Congress could pay closer attention to funding, including assistance for Ukraine required by law, and use its powers over legislation, spending and oversight to hold the White House to existing legal requirements. He said the outgoing Congress had been more willing to let the administration proceed with less scrutiny.
Sources: CNBC Markets.