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By Tom Sanders
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President Donald Trump has threatened to "veto everything" should the Democrats win control of Congress this week.
Speaking on the New York Post's Pod Force One podcast on Monday, Trump told host Miranda Devine that he remained optimistic that Republicans could retain control of the House following the midterm elections, despite polls suggesting that the GOP is on course to suffer heavy losses.
In the event that Republicans lose the House and Senate, "I guess I'll become Mr. Veto," Trump said, adding, "They'll be sending stuff up. You veto it. And eventually, after a month or two of getting all vetoed—they're just wasting time—they come over, and you make a deal. I think that probably would happen, but hopefully we don't have to worry about that."
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Newsweek has contacted the White House for additional comment.
White House Sets Contingency Plans
The White House has spent months drawing up contingency plans ahead of an expected Democratic takeover of Congress, formulating a strategy to advance Trump's agenda in ways that largely bypass congressional approval.
Senior officials, including deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller and budget director Russell Vought, are looking at "what Trump can legally do on his own, where he could push the limits of his authority and how to defend those decisions in court," a White House official with knowledge of the plans told Reuters on condition of anonymity.
The move is consistent with the Trump administration's approach to governance throughout the president's second term, which has largely sought to circumvent Congress and rule through executive action. The 119th Congress has passed 121 laws since it convened in January 2025—the second fewest of any Congress in the past four decades, according to a study by the Pew Research Center.
Democrats have promised to enact a slew of investigations should they win control of the House this week, including an inquiry into the Trump family's finances and business ventures and the administration's handling of the Iran war. Impeachments for both the president and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth have also been floated by several prominent Democrats.
Should they gain control of Congress, Democrats would have the power to block any judicial and executive-branch nominees Trump puts forward, including potential Supreme Court picks. They could also vote to end national emergencies Trump has invoked to expand his ability to act without legislation. However, the president still has the power to veto such a move, requiring a two-thirds majority to overrule him.
As things stand, Democrats need a net gain of four seats in both the House and the Senate to overturn Republicans' narrow majorities: 218-214 and 53-47, respectively. Opinion polls indicate a likelihood of Democrats winning control of the House. However, the Senate races are considered too close to call.
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"Look, if we didn't win—I think we're going to do great—but if we didn't win, I'd veto everything," Trump said. "I'll be vetoing, vetoing. Then they'll come along, and we'll probably make some deals."
Elsewhere in the interview, the president once again expressed interest in running for a third term, but he conceded that he was constitutionally barred from doing so.
"I'd love to run again if I had the chance, but the language is very exacting," he said, referring to the Constitution.
"They had a poll the other day where I'd beat everybody by so much. I'd love to run, but it's fine," Trump continued. "You know, we have more than two years left. That's a long time. You can do a lot in that period of time, and you've seen the job we've done. We have the greatest economy in history."
When Past Presidents Lost Congress
The president's party losing control of both the House and the Senate is a statistically rare occurrence, occurring in 24 of the 114 congressional sessions, although 16 of those instances have happened in the past 70 years.
Presidents Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama all lost control of both chambers at some point during their presidencies, but they were still able to pass several key pieces of legislation. Notable instances include Clinton passing both welfare reform and the Telecommunications Act in 1996, Bush approving the Energy Independence and Security Act in 2007, and Obama signing off on the Every Student Succeeds Act, the Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act and the USA Freedom Act despite Republicans winning control of both chambers in the 2014 midterms.
President Joe Biden narrowly maintained control of the Senate throughout his presidency, while Trump expanded his majority in the Senate during his first term despite Republicans losing the House in the 2018 midterms. Neither President Richard Nixon nor President George H.W. Bush had control of either chamber throughout their respective terms.
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Matthew Robinson and Shakeema Edwards.
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