Democrats have won control of both the House and the Senate in this week's midterm elections, according to projections reported by Corriere della Sera, dealing President Donald Trump's party a heavy defeat. The results set off a wave of consequences across the administration and the states, from a cabinet-adjacent resignation to a historic death penalty decision in California.
According to CNN's Decision Desk, cited in the reporting, Democrats will hold at least 250 House seats — their widest majority since 2008. The party also retook power in several state legislatures. Voters rejected candidates backed by Trump in a number of key races, the outlet reported.
Why it matters
The outcome hands Democrats the levers of Congress for the remainder of Trump's term, changing the calculus for oversight, legislation and any future impeachment proceedings. Corriere della Sera described the result as a rebuke of the president, with the size of the Democratic majority potentially still growing as remaining races are called.
The reporting also points to a broader political realignment: Republican-leaning districts and states flipped, and prominent conservative voices publicly questioned the party's direction.
A socialist wins Los Angeles
In Los Angeles, socialist Nithya Raman defeated the Democratic Party's official candidate and incumbent mayor, Karen Bass, according to US media cited in the reporting. Bass has already called Raman to concede. The incumbent finished with 48 percent to Raman's 52 percent.
Newsom commutes 548 death sentences
California Governor Gavin Newsom ordered the commutation of all 548 death sentences in the state, converting them to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. According to the reporting, it is the largest collective commutation of capital sentences in modern US history and covers roughly a quarter of the country's death row population.
The move comes two months before Newsom leaves office; he had previously imposed a moratorium on executions in California. It could face legal challenges, since in more than half the cases the sentences were handed down in proceedings involving multiple offenses and require review by the state Supreme Court. Families of victims and death penalty supporters, including former district attorney Anne Marie Schubert, criticized the decision. The reporting notes that in December 2024, then-president Joe Biden commuted the sentences of nearly all federal death row inmates except three.
Montana flips after three decades
Democrat Sam Forstag won a Montana House seat, the first Democratic victory there in more than 30 years, according to the reporting. A former firefighter paramedic and union leader, Forstag defeated Republican Aaron Flint, a retired Army lieutenant colonel. Trump carried the district by 11 points two years ago.
Mississippi Senate race still undecided
Vote counting continues slowly in Mississippi's Senate race, where Democrat Scott Colom has widened his lead. With 96 percent of votes counted, Colom leads Republican Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith by 1,724 votes out of roughly 920,000 cast, the reporting said. Democrats have not won this seat since 1982. Colom would become the state's first Black senator elected since 1875.
Resignation at the Justice Department
Harmeet Dhillon, head of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division, resigned, according to Fox News sources cited in the reporting. Dhillon, who took office in April 2025, stepped down the day after the Republican defeat. In the weeks before the vote she had defended the administration's investigations into illegal voting by foreign citizens, telling CBS's 60 Minutes that the aim was not to undermine confidence in elections. "Distrust already exists," she said, adding that even the Biden administration had prosecuted 13 people for voting without US citizenship.
Hegseth, Rubio and Republican recriminations
Republican Representative Thomas Massie said on X that he will reintroduce an impeachment motion against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth unless Hegseth resigns before Congress returns next week. Responding to Trump's expressions of support for the Pentagon chief, Massie said his resolution was a far milder version of what Democrats will pursue once they control Congress.
Corriere della Sera also reported that media accounts say Secretary of State Marco Rubio is weighing resignation, and that Trump has publicly insisted Hegseth will stay in his post. Neither claim was independently confirmed in the reporting.
Former Fox host and Trump ally Tucker Carlson called the midterm results a "disaster" marking the "end of the Trump era," according to the reporting. Some right-wing commentators raised the prospect of a new Republican candidate for 2028, noting that JD Vance and Rubio were swept up in the losses, while others blamed Jared Kushner and insider trading within the administration. All called for a serious reckoning on how the party rebuilds.
What to watch
Vote counting continues in Alaska and Mississippi, where the reporting describes a tight race, and additional House calls could still expand the Democratic majority. Massie's impeachment threat and the legal challenges to Newsom's commutation are the next flashpoints.
