Trump: ‘Hegseth is staying at the Pentagon’. All eyes are on Mississippi and Alaska

War against Donald Trump or compromise. The Democrats find themselves having to decide how to manage their regained power in Congress, aware that disappointing the American people over the next two years could jeopardise the 2028 presidential election. With the power to chair committees in their hands, the liberals have the authority to investigate Trump but know they cannot simply be the ‘anti-president’ party. “They elected us to change the direction of the country. And that is what the House will do,” said House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries. The agenda they intend to pursue, reports the Washington Post, remains vague, and as long as Trump is in the White House without giving his approval, all their initiatives could remain merely on paper. The Democrats must also contend with the thirst for revenge felt by many within the party and with the most unpredictable variable of all: Trump. The President, with his ‘siege mentality’, first ramped up the rhetoric and vowed to fight with all his might against the liberals and their investigations, then toned it down by opening up to the possibility of cooperation. For the Democrats, it remains to be seen how long his cooperative spirit will last.

Following the Democrats’ victory in the US mid-term elections, investors are betting on a scaling back of President Donald Trump’s economic policies. The opposition’s success – having won both houses of Congress and several key gubernatorial seats – could curb the unchecked expansion of artificial intelligence data centres, limit public spending and favour a diplomatic solution to the conflict with Iran. The Wall Street Journal reports on this. The markets’ reaction was clear: yesterday, the Dow Jones rose by 3 per cent, marking its best session since April 2025. The S&P 500 rose by 1.6 per cent, the Nasdaq by 1.4 per cent, with gains in nine of the eleven sectors of the S&P 500. There was widespread buying in banks, construction firms, car manufacturers and the retail sector. One of the key issues capturing investors’ attention is the future of artificial intelligence. Democratic victories in five states considered strategic for the construction of data centres could slow down new investment, particularly in light of growing concerns over the energy and water consumption of such infrastructure. Semiconductor manufacturers, including Nvidia and Micron, were particularly hard hit, whilst Microsoft, Alphabet and Amazon benefited from buying activity. According to analysts, slower expansion of production capacity could in fact support cloud service prices and reduce the risk of over-investment by major technology groups. “The election serves as a wake-up call for a sector that has largely been built on expectations of unchecked growth,” observed Bob Elliott, managing director of Unlimited Funds.

“The protection of the Russian Federation’s interests in Ukrainian affairs cannot be made contingent on the situation in the United States of America. Our interests will be safeguarded in any case. Russia is a fully sovereign state.” This was stated by Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov to journalists, when discussing how the outcome of the mid-term elections might influence negotiations on the conflict in Ukraine. “President Trump will continue to exercise his presidential powers and pursue his foreign policy. Everything else, from our point of view, is an internal matter for the United States,” Peskov added.

Florida is the only state that was not swept away by the Democrats’ ‘blue wave’ in the mid-term elections. “Following the defeat in Texas, Florida is effectively the last bastion,” admitted Florida’s Governor Ron DeSantis. The Republicans have in fact managed to retain a Senate seat, the governorship and all other state-level elected offices, with the results appearing to confirm Florida’s transformation. Once a swing state, it is now a Republican stronghold.

To find the culprit behind the Republicans’ defeat in the mid-term elections, “look in the mirror, President Trump”. It is not a liberal publication pointing the finger at the occupant of the White House, but the *New York Post*, the sixth-largest newspaper in the US by circulation and the most ‘popular’ in Rupert Murdoch’s media empire. This is a tone that would have been unimaginable just two days ago and signals a significant shift beneath the surface. Indeed, as the disastrous election results came in, even Fox News – America’s most-watched all-news channel and his ‘mouthpiece’ ever since he first entered the political arena – had already shifted its tone towards the White House. And the first to notice this was Donald Trump himself, who, in a series of furious messages, attacked his favourite broadcaster, even taking issue with the tone of voice adopted by a programme presenter. These may seem like minor details, but – as the Financial Times points out – in the background there is a media empire that “appears to be coming to terms with the post-Trump era”. As soon as the polls closed, the Wall Street Journal was already pointing the finger at Trump, describing him as the “main architect” of the Republican defeat, and urging the party to reflect on its identity for the future. The business newspaper blamed a second term – described as “erratic and self-absorbed” – for squandering a “rare opportunity to advance the cause of conservative reforms”.

“It is too early to draw conclusions about the impact of the outcome of the mid-term elections in the United States on relations between Turkey and the US” and on the situation “in the Middle East”, but Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan hopes that “the election results will contribute to lasting peace and stability in the region”. In comments reported by the Turkish news agency Anadolu, Erdogan reiterated his commitment to “ongoing dialogue” with the US Administration and Congress. “Unfortunately, there continue to be wars, conflicts and repression all around us. We want peace in our region as soon as possible,” he continued, according to the Daily Sabah. “Relations between Turkey and the US are well-established and rest on solid foundations. We are NATO allies with strategic ties that have been in place for many years.”

Pope Leo XIV’s decision to vote in the US ‘mid-term’ elections is certainly something that ‘has never been done before’, but it is perfectly normal given that Robert Prevost ‘remains a US citizen, and therefore has every right to do so’. This was emphasised this morning by the Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin.

Speaking on the sidelines of a conference on the Church in China currently taking place at the Pontifical Urbaniana University, the head of the Vatican’s diplomatic service went on to point out that, in any case, the exercise of this right is something that “has never happened, neither for Italian popes, nor for Polish or German popes”.

JD Vance is seeking to forge a new alliance with Republicans disillusioned with Trump ahead of the 2028 elections, according to Fox News. A Trump administration official, speaking to Fox News Digital, stated that Vance’s rallying cry for the ‘new right’ – broadly defined as a coalition of Republicans aligned with the President’s original ‘America First’ movement – is based on four key words: staying out of foreign conflicts, making the US an affordable place for Americans who wish to raise a family, and closing the borders.

In an interview with the German television channel ZDF, President Volodymyr Zelensky expressed the hope that the outcome of the US mid-term elections – with a victory for the Democrats – would help to increase US aid to Ukraine and step up the pressure on Vladimir Putin to end the war. “We have bipartisan support,” he said. “I am also grateful to the Republicans, but the Democrats are very clear about their support for Ukraine and the provision of aid. There is talk of re-establishing ties between the US and Europe, which have weakened somewhat in recent years. Without these ties, it is very difficult to stand up to Putin.”

Donald Trump Jr., son of the US President, shared Vice-President JD Vance’s analysis of the defeat in the mid-term elections. In a post on X, Vance had written, amongst other things, that ‘the reason we lost is the war’ in Iran. “Every word is 100 per cent spot on,” wrote Donald Trump Jr. in a comment on Vance’s post.

Hakeem Jeffries, a Democrat and the current Minority Leader in the House of Representatives, has officially announced his candidacy for the post of Speaker of the House in the next Congress. At present, the Democrats already hold a solid majority, having won 237 seats.

Jeffries is set to become the first African-American Speaker of the House in US history. In January, once the new Congress has been sworn in, the House will vote on Jeffries’ nomination and on those of any other Democratic members who may stand for the post. “Against all odds, the Democrats in the House have achieved consistent successes despite being in the minority. Now, as the majority, we must bring about the profound change that the American people are calling for,” Jeffries said in a statement, outlining the parliamentary group’s plans for the new year.

Democratic Senator Chris Coons, who is likely to become chair of the Foreign Relations Committee when the new Congress takes office in January, has already made it clear that scrutinising tech billionaire Elon Musk is a top priority. “One more item to add to the list of questions for Musk when I summon him via a subpoena,” Coons wrote on X, referring to a report that the SpaceX boss had held talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin regarding satellite communications. Coons has just secured a third term in Delaware; he takes a hard line on China and does not hesitate to criticise Israel whilst remaining a supporter of the Jewish state; he is also one of the few lawmakers with specific expertise on the African continent.

Steve Bannon, President Donald Trump’s former adviser, is calling for the establishment of a presidential commission on the war with Iran. “We need a presidential commission, comprising US citizens and institutions, to formally investigate what happened on 7 October.”

If the Israelis do not wish to do so for political reasons, that is their choice: it is their country. However, we have been drawn into this affair, which has had a significant impact on what was a historic night in American politics.

The Republicans’ defeat in the US mid-term elections has heightened uncertainty within Donald Trump’s administration over the strategy to adopt towards Iran. According to Axios, citing sources close to the White House, not even the president’s closest aides know what his next move will be, whilst various options are being considered, ranging from the resumption of military strikes to the opening of negotiations with Tehran.

“He doesn’t want to come across as someone who has been defeated twice,” a former presidential adviser told Axios, referring to the risk that a potential setback on the Iran issue could exacerbate the political fallout from the election defeat.

The US House of Representatives could vote as early as next week on a motion to impeach Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, who has come under fire from a section of his own Republican Party following the heavy defeat in the mid-term elections. This is according to CNN, which cites Republican sources as saying that the motion could secure the votes needed to pass.

Thomas Massie, the Republican MP for Kentucky, told CNN that he intends to push for a vote on impeachment when Congress resumes its sessions, scheduled for next week. Several sources within the Republican Party have told the broadcaster that they believe the motion could be passed. At the heart of the allegations is, above all, the handling of the war against Iran. Some Republican figures accuse Hegseth of having persuaded President Donald Trump to launch military operations against Tehran, without the attacks having produced the expected results.

Donald Trump finds himself facing a political situation he had always sought to avoid until now: that of being a ‘lame-duck’ president, with two years of his term still to run but a Congress now entirely under the control of the Democratic opposition. According to a report in the New York Times, the Republicans’ heavy defeat in the mid-term elections has ushered in a period of uncertainty at the White House, amid fears of new parliamentary inquiries, possible changes to the administration and the need to rethink the president’s political strategy.

“I’ll probably get on well with the Democrats, unless they want to be disruptive,” Trump said yesterday, speaking to journalists outside the construction site of the new White House ballroom. The President pointed out that he retains “the power of veto”, which will allow him to block legislation passed by Congress, before returning to the subject of the refurbishment of the presidential residence.