New Congress 2026: Who Leads House and Senate Now

On Tuesday, November 3, 2026, American voters delivered one of the most consequential midterm verdicts in a generation: Democrats won control of both chambers of Congress, flipping the House of Representatives and the Senate in a single night. It was a result that reshaped the balance of power in Washington and set up two years of divided government, with a Democratic Congress facing a Republican president in Donald Trump.

The new Congress does not take office right away. The winners of the 2026 midterms will be sworn in during the first week of January 2027, when the House elects its speaker, the Senate organizes its committees, and the new majority begins to set the legislative agenda. Between now and then, both parties are choosing their leaders, naming committee chairs, and deciding what the next two years will actually look like.

Here is who will lead the new Congress, what changed on election night, and what it means for the country.

What Happened on Election Night

Midterm elections are held halfway through a president’s four-year term, and all 435 seats in the House of Representatives were on the ballot, along with 35 of the 100 Senate seats. Historically, the party that holds the White House tends to lose seats in the midterms, but the scale of the Democratic gains in 2026 surprised even many forecasters.

Democrats reached the 218 seats needed for a House majority in the early hours of Wednesday, November 4, according to reporting that cited the Associated Press. House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said his party expected to win at least 255 House seats once every vote was counted, which would be one of the largest Democratic House majorities in decades. Final totals were still being counted in the days after the election, and projections from different decision desks varied, with some putting the Democratic total as high as 258 seats.

The Senate result was equally striking. Democrats flipped six Republican-held seats, according to Reuters, including victories in Texas, South Carolina, Kansas, Ohio, Iowa, Maine, and North Carolina. In Texas, Democrat James Talarico defeated Republican Ken Paxton, becoming the first Democrat to win a Senate seat in the state since 1988. Multiple projections put the Democratic Senate total at 51 seats or more, with some tallies showing as many as 54.

Jeffries called the result an “American tsunami” in his victory speech on election night, telling supporters that “today begins the great American comeback.” The scale of the win gave Democrats control of both chambers for the first time since the early 2020s, and it immediately changed the conversation in Washington from what the president would do next to what Congress would allow.

Hakeem Jeffries: The Next Speaker of the House

The most important single job in the new Congress belongs to the Speaker of the House, and Hakeem Jeffries of New York is poised to take it. Jeffries, 56, has led House Democrats since 2023, when he succeeded Nancy Pelosi as the party’s top figure in the chamber. If elected by the full House in January, he would become the first Black speaker in American history.

It is worth being precise about what has and has not happened yet. Jeffries has not been formally elected speaker. That vote happens on the House floor as one of the first orders of business when the new Congress convenes, and every member votes. House Democrats will first gather behind closed doors later in November to formally nominate their candidate, and Republicans will put up their own candidate, who will almost certainly lose given the Democratic majority.

Until the new Congress is sworn in, the current speaker, Republican Mike Johnson of Louisiana, remains in the job. Johnson, who has held the gavel since October 2023, will not seek to remain House Republican leader, according to people familiar with his plans.

The speakership is far more than a ceremonial title. The speaker is the highest-ranking official in the legislative branch, second in line for the presidency after the vice president, and the person who decides which bills reach the House floor and which ones die without a vote. A speaker controls the legislative agenda, appoints members to key committees, and speaks for the House in negotiations with the Senate and the White House.

Jeffries has promised that his top priority will be affordability. In the days after the election, he said Democrats would focus on the cost of living, including housing, health care, groceries, and energy, and on holding the Trump administration accountable through the House’s oversight and investigative powers. He represents New York’s 8th District, covering parts of Brooklyn, and has built a reputation inside his caucus as a consensus-builder who works to bridge the gap between the party’s moderates and its more vocal progressives.

Chuck Schumer Returns as Senate Majority Leader

Across the Capitol, the Senate will also have new leadership. Chuck Schumer of New York, who previously served as Senate Majority Leader, is returning to the role after Democrats flipped the chamber. Schumer, like Jeffries, is a New Yorker, which means the two most powerful figures in the new Congress will both hail from the same state.

The Senate majority leader’s power is different from the speaker’s but just as real. The majority leader decides which bills come to the Senate floor, manages the Senate’s schedule, and leads negotiations on everything from the federal budget to confirmations of judges and executive branch officials. With a Democratic Senate, the Trump administration’s nominees will face a much tougher confirmation process, and Democratic priorities that were blocked for years will finally get votes.

Schumer’s return is also a personal political comeback. He has spent years as one of the most prominent Democrats in Washington, and his battles with President Trump have defined much of his recent career. Now, with the Senate gavel back in Democratic hands, he will be one of the most consequential figures of the president’s final two years in office.

The Senate result also matters for the states that flipped. The Democratic gains stretched across the map, from Maine and North Carolina on the East Coast to Iowa, Kansas, Ohio, and Texas in the middle of the country, and South Carolina in the South. Winning in states like Texas and South Carolina, where Democrats had not won Senate races in decades, was a sign of how broad the Democratic gains were.

What Divided Government Means for the Next Two Years

The new Congress will face a Republican president for its entire two-year term, which means divided government. That arrangement shapes everything about how Washington works. Congress can pass bills, but the president can veto them, and overriding a veto requires two-thirds majorities in both chambers, a threshold Democrats will not come close to reaching.

That does not mean nothing will happen. Divided government in the past has produced major bipartisan legislation on issues where both parties see common ground, from infrastructure to government funding to veterans’ benefits. The federal government still needs to be funded, the debt limit still needs to be addressed, and routine bills still need to pass. The new Democratic majorities will set the terms of those negotiations in ways the previous Republican majorities did not.

The most immediate change will be in oversight. A House controlled by Democrats can launch investigations, hold hearings, and issue subpoenas that a Republican House would not. Jeffries has signaled that accountability will be a central theme, and committee chairs in the new Congress will have the power to demand documents and testimony from the administration.

There will also be a lame-duck session before the new Congress takes office. The current Congress remains in session through the end of 2026, and it must deal with expiring government funding and other unfinished business. The outgoing Republican majorities and the incoming Democratic majorities will both be watching those final weeks closely, because decisions made in the lame-duck session can shape what the new Congress inherits in January.

What Happens Next

The next two months will follow a familiar rhythm. In late November, House Democrats will meet privately to nominate Jeffries for speaker and choose the rest of their leadership team. Senate Democrats will do the same for Schumer. Committee assignments will be negotiated, and the incoming chairs will begin planning their agendas.

Then, in the first week of January 2027, the new Congress will be sworn in. The House will elect its speaker, the 57th since 1789, and the Senate will organize under its new majority. From that moment, the balance of power in Washington will be fundamentally different from the one that existed for the first two years of the Trump presidency.

For ordinary Americans, the practical effects will arrive gradually: in the bills that reach the floor, in the hearings that make the news, and in the negotiations over the federal budget. The 2026 midterms did not settle America’s political arguments. They changed who gets to frame them, and for the next two years, that framing will come from Capitol Hill as much as from the White House.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who will be the next Speaker of the House?

Hakeem Jeffries of New York is expected to become speaker when the new Congress convenes in January 2027. He must still be formally elected by a majority vote on the House floor. If elected, he would be the first Black speaker in US history.

Who leads the new Senate?

Chuck Schumer of New York is returning as Senate Majority Leader after Democrats won control of the chamber in the 2026 midterms.

When does the new Congress take office?

The new Congress will be sworn in during the first week of January 2027. Until then, the current Congress remains in session, including a lame-duck session through the end of 2026.

How many seats did Democrats win in the House?

Democrats passed the 218 seats needed for a majority on election night. Jeffries said the party expected at least 255 seats once counting finished, though final totals varied by outlet and were still being counted.

Can the new Congress override a presidential veto?

Only with a two-thirds vote in both chambers. Democrats will not hold anything close to that threshold, so the president’s veto power remains a hard limit on what Congress can pass over his objections.

What does divided government mean?

It means one party controls the White House while the other controls Congress. Legislation then requires agreement between the two, which can lead to compromise on shared priorities or to gridlock on contested ones.