Source: Nicole Silverio
Democrats reclaimed the House Majority for the first time since the 2020 election Tuesday as voters soured on Republicans’ handling of inflation and the Iran war.
The Democrats retook the House after major wins in races across the country, according to NBC News, CBS News and Decision Desk HQ. Republicans redrew several congressional maps and aggressively campaigned to hold onto their razor-thin majority as voters disapproved of President Donald Trump’s handling of the Iran war, high prices and corruption.
Several polls showed voters trusted Democrats over Republicans to address the economy and stop government corruption, the two top issues in the 2026 election cycle.
Around 65% of Americans disapproved of Trump’s handling of the war, while 33% approved, according to a Pew Research Center survey from October. Americans struggled to pay for food and gas as prices remained high since the start of the conflict.
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Republicans regained their majority in the House after the 2022 midterm elections and held onto their majority after 2024. The party currently holds 219 seats and Democrats hold 214 seats.
House Republicans barely won the House in 2022 and underwent a leadership shakeup after eight Republicans voted to vacate former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. Former Republican Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene resigned in November 2025 after she criticized Trump’s bombing of Iran and supported a petition that would have forced a vote on releasing the files surrounding Jeffrey Epstein.
Trump successfully orchestrated Republican Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie’s upcoming exit from Congress over his votes against the One Big, Beautiful Bill (OBBB), his calls to release to release the Epstein files and his criticisms of the Iran war. Massie lost his primary to Trump-backed challenger Ed Gallrein, who won by a nine-point margin.
Speaker Mike Johnson struggled to get some parts of the Republicans’ agenda passed with a razor-thin majority, including a reauthorization of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) and several funding bills. House Republicans passed the One Big, Beautiful Bill (OBBB), the Working Families Tax Cuts and the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) America Act despite having such a thin majority.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries is likely to become the next House speaker. Members of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) could potentially oppose him becoming speaker over his positions on Medicare for All and U.S. aid to Israel.
Jeffries said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” in September that he did not support Medicare for All, angering many further-left Democrats. He voted against Republican Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie’s proposed amendment to slash $3.3 billion in military aid to Israel, which over 100 Democrats voted in favor of.
Only six House Democrats voted in July for the fiscal 2027 National Defense Authorization Act, which would have provided a $1.5 trillion budget for the Pentagon. Democratic leadership in the House and Senate voted against the package over their opposition to the war.
“House Republicans have unfortunately made the National Defense Authorization Act highly partisan in ways that are irresponsible when it comes to providing for the national security of the American people,” Jeffries said.
Democratic leadership historically cracked the whip more often than Republicans when members of their caucuses broke the rules. Leadership threatened to punish Democratic Reps. Jared Golden of Maine and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez of Washington for voting with Republicans to pass a rule to move forward on legislation. Nine rules votes have failed under House Speaker Mike Johnson’s watch, while no rules votes failed to pass under former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s leadership.
House Republicans will choose their leaders for the upcoming Congress on Nov. 10.
Democrats may launch investigations into Trump and members of his administration when they retake power, particularly regarding their finances, cryptocurrency business ventures and their handling of the Iran war. Some House Democrats have hinted they will look into impeaching Trump, although Jeffries remained noncommittal.
Trump made more than $1 billion off cryptocurrency and promoted companies after buying their stock, according to a CNN investigation. He accepted a jet as a gift from Qatar to use as Air Force One, which is supposed to be transferred to his presidential library.
Trump pardoned Changpeng Zhao, the former CEO of cryptocurrency exchange Binance, in October 2025. Zhao and Binance had established business ties with World Liberty Financial, a crypto venture that Trump launched with his sons, Don Jr. and Eric.
The previous Democrat-controlled House impeached Trump twice.
Polls and voters’ sentiments indicated that Democrats would fare better than Republicans in the House races. The Congressional Leadership Fund, the top House super PAC, slashed $6 million in ad spending in the district to oppose Democratic Florida Rep. Jared Moskowitz, who was running against former Republican Boca Raton Mayor Scott Singer. The No Going Back PAC, a super PAC backed by MAGA Inc., planned to spend $6.3 million in the district.
The super PAC also slashed $3 million from Texas’ 28th district, which was redrawn to help Republicans oust Democratic Texas Rep. Henry Cuellar. Trump won the district by seven percentage points in 2024.
The Congressional Leadership Fund pulled $10 million in support of Republicans Reps. Tom Kean Jr. of New Jersey and Mariannette Miller-Meeks of Iowa. The super PAC reallocated the money across 16 districts in Florida, California, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Texas.