Is Trump really a ‘lame duck’ after losing both houses of US Congress?
Despite losing legislative control, the US president still has strong executive powers to push his agenda forward.
Democrats have flipped some long-held Republican seats and secured a majority in both houses of the US Congress, but a defiant President Donald Trump has given a mixed reaction, expressing his willingness to accept the results and work with the Democrats while also positioning himself to put up a fight.
In posts on Truth Social following Tuesday’s midterm vote, Trump pinned the defeat on the fact that he wasn’t personally on the ballot, stressing that if he had been running, Republicans would have “won IN A LANDSLIDE!”
In an interview with The New York Times while watching election returns at the White House, he said he was “absolutely willing to accept those results” and to “work with the Democrats”, only to then post on social media an image of a red MAGA hat with his slogan replaced by the word: “VETO”, referring to his the presidential power he has to block legislation passed by Congress.
When a president declares a national emergency, Congress can enact a joint resolution terminating the emergency, but the president can then use his veto power to block that.