For Ukraine and Europe, Democratic control of Congress offers a route to press for military support, NATO funding and sanctions against Russia after the Trump administration reduced aid to Ukraine and suspended sanctions.
Voters in November’s midterm elections, held on Tuesday, gave Democrats clear majorities in the House of Representatives and the Senate, ending Republican control of the US Congress.
Speaking in Berlin as voting took place, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the elections would ‘shape the future’. ‘Right now, things are deeply uncertain. Many hopes may once again end in disappointment,’ he told reporters.
Under President Biden, a Democrat, the US had backed Ukraine with financial assistance, military expertise and large-scale weapons deliveries, acting alongside Europe as a reliable partner. The change under Trump has included a notably frosty White House welcome for Zelenskyy during his 2025 visit. Trump said openly that he gets along better with Russian President Vladimir Putin than with Zelenskyy.
Trump also hosted Putin in Alaska a few months after February 2025. Over the past two years, he has refused to rule out a US departure from NATO, launched a review of the US military presence in Europe, pressed to acquire Greenland and pursued a more friendly policy towards Russia.
The practical effects of that approach have reached assistance already approved by Congress. The Pentagon delayed $400 million in military assistance under the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative for months, despite congressional authorisation.
Congress sets legislation and government spending, and acts as a check on the president and intelligence agencies. Democrats can now seek legislation providing more aid to Ukraine, Brandon Conradis said: ‘Democrats criticize the Trump administration for not doing enough for Ukraine. They can push legislation that would provide more aid to Ukraine.’
Its leverage has limits. Democrats would require a two-thirds supermajority in both chambers to override a presidential veto of Ukraine aid legislation.
Congress passed a sweeping Russia sanctions bill championed by the late Senator Graham in September, and the president signed it into law. The Treasury had lifted restrictions on purchases of Russian diesel before Trump issued a broad waiver of Graham’s sanctions on October 16.
In Moscow, the Kremlin said it hoped the midterm result would leave untouched Trump’s attempt to broker a peace deal between Ukraine and Russia.
Europe may find that a divided Washington brings its own uncertainty. Vessela Tcherneva, deputy director of the European Council on Foreign Relations, warned that ‘a constrained Trump domestically may actually mean more erratic Trump on foreign policy’. The European Council on Foreign Relations said that even a Democratic resurgence would not necessarily restore the old transatlantic relationship.
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