The most anticipated midterm election in recent memory has come and gone. When the dust cleared and all was said and done, there may not have been a blue wave, but it certainly wasn't a wasted night for Democrats. The Democrats may have lost four seats in the Senate, but gained twenty-eight seats in the House, taking control of the chamber. Many democratic voters are treating this as a victory; control of the House of Representatives gives Democrats the power to challenge the Trump agenda for the first time in his presidency. However, a split Congress may end up proving to be another disaster for the Democrats.
For a bill to become law, it has to pass both the House and the Senate. This allows the Democrats in the House to kill any bill they don't like, but there are still a whole lot of things that they have no power to stop. For example, the Senate has the power to appoint federal judges that the president nominates. With a healthy majority in the Senate (55 Republicans to 45 Democrats), the GOP has the potential to make the courts conservative for decades to come. Senate Republicans have made appointing Trump's judges a priority, so expect them to get started on that right away.
Another thing that Democrats may end up having no control over is the Mueller investigation into Russian collusion. Theoretically at least, control of the House means that Democrats have the power to investigate President Trump's tax returns and his alleged links to Russia, but it may not end up working out that way. Donald Trump has already fired Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who recused himself from the Russia investigation, and has replaced him with Matthew Whitaker, an outspoken critic of the Mueller probe who has publicly called for its swift conclusion. If Whitaker does decide to do this, it undercuts any ability that the Democrat-controlled House may have had to investigate the president and his dealings with Russia. However, the House can still investigate Trump on his tax returns, and his policies of family separation at the border and changing the legal definition of gender to be exclusively biological.
While Democrats have much more power now than they've had for the last two years, this may end up actually helping Donald Trump in the end. Trump knows that two brutal, grueling years of political deadlock could very well be ahead of him, and if that does end up being the case, Trump and the Republicans can simply blame Democrats for obstructing the democratic process, which would help him a lot in his reelection bid for 2020. If you don't believe me, he essentially said as much in a press conference the day after the midterm elections, the same press conference where he kicked out CNN's Jim Acosta.
In conclusion, the Democrats certainly have gained more of a voice in politics, which is a victory, but there is still a lot of work for Democrats to do before they can disrupt or impeach President Trump with any sense of confidence.
