Democrats seek House majority to oversee Trump foreign policy

Congressional shifts and presidential control

This week, voters will elect all 435 members of the House of Representatives, where Democrats expect to win a majority for the first time since 2020. The Democratic Party faces much steeper odds in the Senate, where only about one-third of the 100 seats are up for a vote, with seven seats currently considered toss-ups. To pass crucial legislation, Democrats must overcome a Senate filibuster requiring 60 votes, even if they secure 51 seats for a majority. James M. Lindsay, a foreign policy expert at the Council on Foreign Relations, says most lawmakers hesitate to oppose a president of their own party, even when they disagree with policy choices. If Democrats muster enough support to push through a bill on assistance for Ukraine or tougher sanctions against Russia, Trump wields powerful veto rights that require a two-thirds supermajority in both chambers to override, a threshold Democrats are unlikely to reach. While a Democratic House or Congress may bristle at President Donald Trump’s diplomacy with Russia, it cannot compel him to change it, according to Lindsay. A Democratic House majority would also allow Hakeem Jeffries to replace Mike Johnson as speaker, which would prevent Republican skeptics from keeping pro-Ukraine legislation off the floor, as they did with Biden’s aid bill from late 2023 until 2024.

Executive sidestepping of legislative mandates

The administration has demonstrated it can sidestep Congressional authority on Ukraine matters through several actions. Earlier this year, the Pentagon delayed $400 million in military assistance under the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative for months, even though Congress had already authorized it. In August, U.S. senators passed the Lindsey Graham Act with 86 votes, but Trump issued a broad waiver of those sanctions on Oct. 16, following the decision to allow Russian diesel into the U.S. and ease restrictions on Russian diesel. This follows a period where Trump publicly humiliated President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office in February 2025 and hosted Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska a few months later. Daniel Hamilton, a foreign policy expert at the Brookings Institution, notes that Trump is unlikely to veto legislation that funds the Defense Department, such as the National Defense Authorization Act. However, passing a law does not guarantee that the executive will carry it out as lawmakers intended.

Oversight and the future of aid

A Democratic victory would grant leadership of committees to Democrats, which would allow them to use subpoenas to investigate executive officials. Democrats may use these powers to investigate SpaceX founder Elon Musk regarding the temporary throttling of Starlink services in Ukraine, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth regarding Patriot missile shipment delays, or peace envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner for pushing peace deals favorable to Moscow. A House majority would also allow Democrats to impeach executive officials, including Trump for a third time, though a supermajority of senators is needed for conviction. Representative Mike Levin, who represents California’s 49th district, said his party will use every legislative and oversight tool available to ensure Ukraine receives security assistance. Representative Gregory Meeks, a ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, pledged to work with both parties to compel the administration to deliver the security, economic, and intelligence support Ukraine needs to defend its people from Putin’s invasion. Meeks also intends to work on fixing the Graham Act so the president cannot unilaterally import Russian energy. The Democratic party’s 100-day post-victory plan focuses on the cost of living and restraining Trump’s war against Iran, which has driven up inflation and fuel prices. Because Trump cannot run for another term, he has even less incentive to temper his policy based on political winds.