# Democrats surge as Republicans return to lame-duck Congress > After a midterm blue wave, Democrats feel empowered while Republicans grapple with defeat and a packed legislative agenda before January. - Title: Democrats surge as Republicans return to lame-duck Congress - Summary: After a midterm blue wave, Democrats feel empowered while Republicans grapple with defeat and a packed legislative agenda before January. - Keywords: midterm elections, congress, democrats, republicans, lame duck, government funding, national defense authorization act, iran war, fisa section 702, trump, exit polls, NBC News - Source: NBC News — https://nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/capitol-hill-vibe-shift-politics-desk-rcna608437 - Author: The Politics Desk - Published: 2026-11-09T22:39:52.69+00:00 - Read time: 2 min - Topics: midterm elections, congress, democrats, republicans, lame duck, government funding, national defense authorization act, iran war, fisa section 702, trump, exit polls, politics ## The mood has shifted on Capitol Hill Republicans return to Washington shell-shocked by last week's electoral defeat, now serving as lame ducks with a lengthy to-do list before Democrats take power. ## Congress faces a packed agenda Republicans must pass a government funding bill by December eleventh to prevent a shutdown, plus the National Defense Authorization Act and a farm bill. ## More items on the legislative list Congress must decide on renewing FISA Section seven hundred two warrantless surveillance, permitting reform for construction projects, and a college sports bill. ## Senate must review Trump nominees The Senate will review President Donald Trump's nominees while the House considers a resolution to impeach Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, led by Rep. Thomas Massie. ## Democrats feel empowered by victories Democrats made deep incursions into red-leaning territory amid voter backlash to Trump, and now feel emboldened to shape the legislative agenda. ## Democrats demand Iran war funding cut Some Democrats say their mandate includes ending the Iran war and refuse to pass government funding without cutting off money for Trump to continue it. ## Bennet warns against funding the war Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., wrote that Congress would abdicate responsibility voting for billions for Trump's war of choice in Iran without approval. > I believe we would abdicate our responsibility if we voted to provide billions of additional dollars for President Trump's war of choice in Iran. ## Republicans delay leadership elections A small group of Republicans pushes to delay tomorrow's closed-door meeting to pick their leadership team, wanting to debate what went wrong first. ## McCormick calls for reflection Sen. David McCormick, R-Pa., said Republicans need to discuss what went wrong, how to fix it, and how their agenda must focus on American concerns. > A week ago, we had the worst election result in decades. ## Republicans avoid blaming Trump There is no internal consensus among Republicans about why they lost decisively, and many are reluctant to point fingers at Trump despite exit polls. ## Trump voters switched to Democrats About thirteen percent of voters who chose Trump in twenty twenty-four voted for Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff in Georgia, with similar patterns across states. ## Democrats won over former Trump voters James Talarico in Texas and Mark Warner in Virginia each drew eleven percent of former Trump voters. Nationally, around seven percent of Trump voters chose Democratic House candidates. ## Democrats take power in six weeks The big question is how much Trump and Republicans will compromise over the next six weeks while they retain maximum leverage before January third. ## Democrats poised for historic majorities Come January third, Democrats are poised to take power on Capitol Hill with some of the biggest majorities here since two thousand nine. ## Key takeaway Democrats won sweeping midterm victories and now feel emboldened as Republicans return to Congress as lame ducks facing major legislative deadlines.