Democrats widen gap in House chamber by flipping more seats, including in Ohio, Arizona and North Carolina; Ted Cruz calls election a ‘Watergate-level repudiation’
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Sign up for Breaking News US email Welcome to our live coverage of the US midterm elections – here are some of the latest key developments. A number of closely watched contests in the midterms are still to be called, including the final two US Senate races – in Mississippi and Ala…
As Democrats keep collecting House seats like they’re Pokémon, I just want to remind everyone that the threshold in the House to override a veto is 290 seats. Democrats won’t get there, but look like they will definitely get past 260 and have an outside shot at 270. But if Trump starts vetoing popular things, it wouldn’t be a stretch to see 20 or 30 Republican defectors out of the 170-ish Republicans left. That’s less than 20%.
The path in the Senate is tougher, you need to get to 67. If Democrats win one of the last two seats, and Fetterman doesn’t Fetterman, that means they have to get 12 of the remaining 45 Senators, or 27%.
There may be enough Republicans who are sick of tarrifs to push that through. There are definitely enough Republicans who are sick of the war to push that through. And the threshold for a veto override is actually higher than impeachment; if these overrides come through and he ignores them, then impeachment is the next logical step, no matter what Chuck and Hakeem say publicly now.
If this turns out to be Chuck’s plan – work with Republicans to publicly humiliate the President, and force him to accept “no” on his signature policies that are hurting Americans – we may all look back on this in two years thinking he’s a genius. (I still want him to retire, though…)
That’s a lot of ifs. I don’t see any reason to think Jeffries or Schumer are secret masterminds, any more than I see a reason to hope Fetterman won’t Fett.
You’re right on all points. It is a lot of ifs, but that’s the position the US gov is in. The veto override and impeachment/removal numbers will impact what can legally be done. Democrats having a simple majority in Congress with an adversarial president means overcoming one or both of those things to pass real legislation or meaningfully hold the President accountable.
They can still subpoena, run investigations, control budgets, and otherwise be incredibly vocal to make certain decisions politically painful but it remains to be seen what they’ll actually do or if there is a plan at all.
In the meantime, we can actively try to pressure politicians to do something with the powers they will have in Jan by writing them and showing up at their offices (with appointments - it’s doable).
Most sane lemmy comment? I think we’re about 2 months away from “but why haven’t they impeached him, Dems are useless” posts because people don’t understand how US government process works. Even with the blue wave, D is not strong enough to pass any legislation without R support.
We are going to see that, yup. People are upset and want change but may not understand (or care about) how things work. It’s one of the reasons the last presidential election went the way it did too, regardless of the evidence that the change on offer may not be in the direction uninformed voters wanted.
Many have seen the damage rapidly caused over the past few years and wonder why the opposition now can’t undo it, despite the levers available being different. There are still things that can be done but either because of emotions or an incomplete understanding of the systems in play, there are mismatched expectations floating around.
It’s why I advocate to engage politicians, which is one of the next levers available to us.
You’re incredibly based and please comment more. Few people seem to recognize that obstructionist agendas like Republican agendas are far easier to implement in the US. The last two years only saw so much BS happen because Trump abused the executive’s power and the SC and Congress enabled/abdicated responsibility.
I’m just surprised to read a comment that actually understands the various accountability chains in the US.
Sane? He is ignoring the reality that veto are rarely overriden. Like Trump has used the veto 12 times and only one was overruled. He ignore that republicans ia still a cult? He is overestimate Schumer
I did no such thing. Please actually read, recognize context, and try to understand what I wrote rather than accusing me of ignoring things.
I’m agreeing that vetos are difficult to override. The top level comment had it right that even with the win, the numbers are not there without cooperation from the opposing party to overcome a veto. This affects what legislation can be passed.
Whether the opposition will or won’t cooperate because “they’re a cult” is not relevant to how the system actually functions, though it does affect the possible outcomes and how many “ifs” are being relied on for change.
I’m also agreeing with the comment I replied to that it remains to be seen what the Democrats will actually do and that current Dem leadership has given us no reason to believe they are masterminds.
What? No, it’s the other way around. Yes veto is very rarely overruled… so Democrats have very little odds of passing any legislation Trump doesn’t want passed.
That’s what he’s saying. Which is what your comment also implies.
The Republicans under Trump are mostly cultists they won’t defect from the president. You are giving too much props to Schumer.
From 12 vets, the congress only override one of trump vets and was a veto against a bill that give money to the criminal military industrial complex.
I think you underestimate how unpopular the tariffs and war are. I don’t think we will get Republicans to cross the lines on anything else including the budget. (Be prepared for more shutdowns).
But, I think the folks who thought they were in safe seats but ended up winning by a hair realize that they need to break with Trump on these two points in order to have a chance in 2028
The war is still popular among Republican politicians. Many of the democrats so called anti war also rejected the mou that would lead to the end of war.
If we go down that path we’ll get another Trump within 20 years and we may not come back from the next one. Trump is just a symptom, the real disease afflicting this country is the party of Goldwater, Nixon, Reagan, Bush, and countless other traitors. Until that organization is broken every victory we see is just the country getting lucky while playing Russian roulette.