Democrats take the House, and Trump loses his grip on Congress

Democrats have won control of the House of Representatives, NBC News projects, in a rebuke that strips President Donald Trump of unified Republican power on Capitol Hill. The projection puts Democrats at roughly 244 seats — comfortably past the 218 needed for a majority, and potentially their widest margin in nearly two decades. NBC News has not yet projected a winner in the Senate. Democrats take the gavel on Jan. 3.

The win sets up a historic moment: Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of New York is expected to be sworn in as the first Black speaker of the House, capping a nationwide campaign sprint by the Democratic leader. For Trump, it's the first time in his second term that he won't have both chambers in his corner — a stretch in which he dismantled federal agencies via DOGE cuts, imposed sweeping tariffs unilaterally and pulled congressionally approved funding while a GOP-controlled Congress mostly stayed quiet.

Majority control means committee gavels, and with them subpoena power. Rep. Robert Garcia of California, in line to chair House Oversight in January, said his panel will dig into what he called Trump family corruption — including the president's cryptocurrency ventures, which the report says have earned him more than $1 billion — plus ICE and Department of Homeland Security abuses, corporate corruption and the Jeffrey Epstein files. Some Democrats are already talking about a third impeachment; Jeffries told NBC News' "Meet the Press" that nothing has been ruled in or out.

Voters treated the race as a referendum on Trump's record: the immigration crackdown, an eight-month war with Iran, and tariffs on U.S. allies that pushed up the price of gas, groceries and other goods. House Democrats only needed to flip a net of three seats to reclaim the majority they lost in 2022, and Trump's poor approval numbers weighed heavily on his party.

It's a stinging loss for Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana, who was lifted from relative obscurity into the top job and has led House Republicans for three years. Whether the close Trump ally fights to stay on as minority leader or steps aside is unclear — the latter would spark a bruising GOP scramble to replace him.

The battlefield was mostly GOP territory, and redistricting turned into open warfare. Trump fired first in summer 2025, urging Texas Republicans to redraw lines for up to five extra seats, with Florida, North Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama, Louisiana and Missouri following suit. Democrats hit back in California, where Gov. Gavin Newsom and Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi rallied support for Proposition 50's new congressional map — which helped them flip GOP-held seats. Republicans still grabbed several majority-Black districts in the South, but the Supreme Court blocked Missouri's new map, effectively protecting Rep. Emanuel Cleaver's Kansas City seat. Jeffries said the redistricting fight isn't finished, vowing to push for a federal ban on mid-decade gerrymandering in the next Congress.