Veto math: Democrats won control of both chambers of Congress this week, but their agenda faces a hurdle.
California income tax: Voters rejected a tax on billionaires that supporters said would raise roughly $100 billion, then approved a second measure written to cancel it out.
Wisconsin veto power: One governor’s edit to a budget bill locked in school funding for 400 years, and voters just moved to stop the next one.
Michigan Senate seat: Michigan elected the first Muslim to the U.S. Senate in the most expensive race in state history.
Pennsylvania data centers: Three Democrats who unseated Republican state senators say data centers were among the issues that decided their races.
Democrats win Congress, but Trump keeps the veto
Photo: Nils Huenerfuerst / Unsplash
What we found: Democrats flipped more than 30 U.S. House seats and took Senate seats in Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Ohio, South Carolina, and Texas, giving them majorities in both chambers and control of congressional committees in the 120th Congress. The affordability plan their leaders outlined this week targets President Donald Trump’s tariffs and the Iran conflict, which have pushed up gas and grocery costs. Neither is within reach. Democrats likely won’t have the two-thirds supermajority votes needed to override a veto on legislation repealing tariffs or cutting off military spending.
The stakes: Democrats say they will push to boost Obamacare subsidies and reverse the cost-cutting changes to Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, in Republicans’ One Big Beautiful Bill. Those policies affect what families pay for health coverage and how much food aid they receive.
The backstory: This fight predates the election. The pandemic-boosted Premium Tax Credit reverted to its original level last year after a 43-day shutdown over Democrats’ demands that Republicans extend it. A handful of Republicans have since said they would work on legislation to delay or soften the Medicaid and food aid cutbacks.
3 States
California: Voters rejected Proposition 40, a one-time 5% tax on billionaires that supporters said would have raised roughly $100 billion over five years for schools, Medi-Cal, and other programs. It failed 52.4% to 47.6%. They also passed Proposition 42, which bars new state personal property taxes. That measure was written to cancel out the billionaire tax, and it won 54.33% to 45.7%.
Wisconsin: Voters are projected to approve a constitutional amendment blocking future governors from using a partial veto to create or increase a tax or fee, or authorize someone else to do so. Unofficial results show the measure leading 50.7% to 49.3%, with 98% of ballots counted. Outgoing Gov. Tony Evers had used that power to turn “2024-25” into “2425,” allowing a $325 per student, per year increase for 400 years. Governor-elect David Crowley does not intend to overturn it.
Michigan: Progressive Democrat Abdul El-Sayed won Michigan’s open U.S. Senate seat, leading Republican Mike Rogers 52.5% to 45.5% with 98% of the vote counted. He is the first Muslim elected to the U.S. Senate. With more than $250 million in disclosed spending, it was the most expensive race in state history. Rogers had not conceded as of Wednesday.
2 Issues
Data centers: Three Democrats who unseated Republican state senators in Pennsylvania’s Senate flip said data centers were among the top issues in their races. Brian Wrightson, who beat Sen. Rosemary Brown, told The Center Square he believes they were “the biggest issue in northeastern Pennsylvania.” Congressional Democrats also plan to push for guardrails on data centers and artificial intelligence.
Energy: Incoming Democratic majorities are expected to push for more oversight of methane emissions, limits on drilling on federal land and offshore, and tighter environmental permitting requirements. Tom Pyle, president of the American Energy Alliance, told The Center Square Democrats can use the Congressional Review Act, a fast track for undoing federal rules, “but they’ll be vetoed.” Ed Hirs, a University of Houston energy economist, said global markets and prices, not Washington, drive U.S. production.
1 Number
$1.2 trillion
A single round of the $5,000 payments President Donald Trump promised every adult citizen if Republicans held Congress would cost about that much, according to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget. The payments were contingent on Republicans holding Congress, and after Democrats won both chambers, the White House did not say whether Trump still intends to pursue them.
Washington’s ballot splits as Republicans lose ground
Washington voters appear poised to reject Initiative 645, the income tax repeal, while Initiative 638 on transgender athletes in girls’ sports led 56.7% to 42.2%. Pierce County Sheriff Keith Swank tells The Center Square the sheriff amendment voters are rejecting was an attempt to remove him from office.
Gina Hinojosa, Texas governor-elect
The Democratic state representative beat three-term Republican Gov. Greg Abbott 52.8% to 45.7% with 99% of votes tallied. Abbott conceded Tuesday night, the first loss of his career. Hinojosa is the first Democrat to win the office since Ann Richards in 1990.
Which issue do you want the incoming Congress to address first?
Democratic leaders have made affordability the center of their agenda for the 120th Congress, but President Donald Trump says he’s ready to use his veto.
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