The aggressive body of legislation the Democrats had hoped to pass in anticipation of doing well in the congressional elections now faces significant hurdles after the Republicans gained in the House and appeared to keep their majority in the Senate, The Hill reported on Tuesday.
Even if, at best, the Democrats manage to win both special runoff elections for the two Georgia Senate seats, their task will still be formidable.
“It’s always better to be in the majority of course, but 50-50 in and of itself is pretty difficult,” said Jim Manley, a longtime aide to former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. “It’s just very difficult to imagine much of anything getting done.”
Regardless of who wins the Georgia runoffs, Democrats will likely need help from Republicans for most legislation.
That is because while Democrats are under pressure to cancel the legislative filibuster if they control the Senate, Democrat aides have said that a 50-50 split likely makes that impossible, since several Democrats are opposed to dispensing with it, with Sen. Joe Manchin already officially announcing he would not vote to end the filibuster.
This likely means there is little chance for significant Democrat priorities, such as election and ethics reforms, climate change legislation, and most health care policy, since hundreds of House-passed bills have been stopped by a Senate GOP roadblock in recent years.
The Wall Street Journal pointed out that this includes Joe Biden’s plans to raise taxes on businesses and high-income individuals.
Even if Democrats managed to control the Senate in a 50-50 tie, they would likely need every Democrat vote to increase any taxes, limiting such a prospect to whatever can unify progressives and moderates in the party.
Brian Freeman ✉
Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.
© 2026 Newsmax. All rights reserved.