Democrats won control of both chambers of Congress in Tuesday's US midterm elections, and by Wednesday Republicans had begun assigning blame — much of it to President Donald Trump. According to EL PAÍS, the losses included upsets in deeply Republican territory, among them Texas, where Democrat Gina Hinojosa defeated Greg Abbott and will become the first Hispanic woman to lead the border state.
The results drew a pointed Republican reaction. Texas state representative Dade Phelan told CNN that voters had done precisely what Trump asked of them, according to EL PAÍS: they cast ballots as though the president himself were on the ticket. Polling had suggested a favorable night for the opposition, but the outcome delivered surprises well beyond expectations, including in Texas.
Why it matters
The midterms strip Trump's party of its hold on Capitol Hill and hand Democrats the levers of the legislative agenda with two years left in the presidential term. EL PAÍS describes the night as a repudiation of the president, and Spanish outlets framed it in historic terms: El Periódico called it the worst defeat since Watergate, while Expansión described it as a humbling lesson for Trump.
The consequences extend past Washington. Brazil's government, ten days removed from President Lula's own re-election, received the US result with restrained satisfaction, according to EL PAÍS. Brazilian diplomatic sources said the outcome "restores the lost balance" and will have "a positive systemic impact" on the region, though they cautioned that the new Congress's priorities remain to be seen. The two governments are still negotiating over tariffs Trump imposed on Brazil as punishment, and the US president never publicly acknowledged Lula's victory over the far-right Flávio Bolsonaro, whom he has hosted.
In Europe, the EU's high representative for foreign policy, Kaja Kallas, said she hoped the incoming House and Senate would "increase the pressure on Russia," adding that voters had made their preference clear. EL PAÍS notes that Trump has positioned himself closer to Moscow than to Kyiv, breaking with the approach of his predecessor, Joe Biden, and that in the past month he has called on Ukraine to replace its leader, Volodímir Zelensky. Congress, by contrast, has generally taken a warmer line toward the invaded country.
A leadership vacuum opens in the House
House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, told his team by phone Wednesday morning that he will not continue as Republican leader in the new Congress, according to EL PAÍS. His announcement came a day after Democrats captured the lower chamber, taking at least 21 seats from Republicans.
Johnson first won his House seat in 2016 and rose unusually quickly to the speakership, holding the post for two terms after Republicans removed Kevin McCarthy of California from the job in 2023. He spent recent weeks campaigning across the country and had floated the idea of staying on as minority leader if his party lost its majority. His decision not to seek the post again opens the way for a possible contest between House Majority Leader Steve Scalise and Judiciary Committee chairman Jim Jordan to lead Republicans from the minority.
A Texas Democrat promises no payback
James Talarico, who won Texas's Senate race in what EL PAÍS describes as a surprising Democratic performance in the state, told CNN on Wednesday that he is ready to work with lawmakers from both parties and that Democrats will not pursue political retribution. "I think our main priority has to be responding to the needs of the people of Texas. We weren't sent to Washington for political reprisals," he said, according to EL PAÍS. Talarico declined to say whether he would support a possible impeachment of Trump.
Criticism also came from within Republican ranks. Former Georgia congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, a staunch Trump ally until late last year, wrote on X that if her party "wants any chance in the future, it will have to expel Donald Trump," according to EL PAÍS. She argued that Trump has transformed the party.
What to watch: whether House Republicans settle their leadership fight quickly, and whether the new Democratic majority moves toward oversight action against the president — a question Talarico and others have so far left open.
