A Decisive Democrat Win; A Cloudy Future – “The Sunday Political Brunch” - November 15, 2026

The ground continues to shake after the devastating 2026 midterm elections. At the same time, people are looking at where, and where not, divided government may get along. Let's "brunch" on that and more this week.

"More Election Fallout" – Ballot counting continues, but Democrats will clearly have a solid majority in both the House and Senate and will control most state governorships. Democrats will hold 55 Senate seats, with one more in Alaska still to be decided. They have a 255-169 advantage in the House, with 11 races still to be decided. They hold 29 governorships to 20 for Republicans, with one race still too close to call. "If I were on the ballot, I would have won," President Donald Trump said, trying to deflect widespread criticism that his policies were to blame for the crushing midterm defeats. Even one-fourth of all Republicans in an Associated Press poll blamed Trump for their staggering losses. A new Economist/YouGov Poll has Trump's approval rating at 32 percent, the lowest approval mark in his second term.

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"The Alaska Meltdown" – Former Rep. Mary Peltola (D) Alaska maintains a slim lead over Sen. Daniel L. Sullivan (R) Alaska in the final Senate race to be decided this year. The race was fascinating because of allegations that the Democrats recruited Daniel J. Sullivan to run, hoping to cause voter confusion over the two men with similar names. Daniel J. remains in fourth place, but Alaska must still go through the rank-choice voting procedure to get to a final count. It could happen as early as Wednesday, November 18, but could drag on due to legal challenges. At times during the count, Danile J. Sullivan, with only a few thousand votes, did not have enough ballots to prove that name confusion was a factor in the final outcome. Right now, even if you combine the vote totals of the two Sullivans, Peltola still has more votes.

"Congress Reorganizes" – The soon-to-be House Republican minority has chosen Rep. Jim Jordan (R) of Ohio as its minority leader. He defeated current House Majority Leader Rep. Steve Scalise (R) Louisiana. Jordan is the current Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee. Democrats are widely expected to choose Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D), New York, as the next Speaker of the House. One of the key things to examine here is whether Democrats, given their huge gains, can override President Trump's vetoes of their legislation. You need two-thirds of the U.S. House and Senate to override a presidential veto. That means Democrats need 291 votes in the House and 67 votes in the Senate, so they fall short in both chambers unless they get significant Republican support. This "veto vs. override" scenario could dominate the next two years, resulting in gridlock.

"Ron Johnson Attacks Trump" --- Sen. Ron Johnson (R), Wisconsin, a product of the Tea Party movement, and a long supporter of President Trump, has turned the tables, saying, "The bipartisan corruption within all branches of government. The problem is, is government. Government is power. Power corrupts." He added, the corruption was, "within government - I'm sad to say, within the Trump administration." In a statement, the White House disagreed, saying,

"President Trump has launched an all-out war on fraud across the entire federal government, holding criminals accountable and saving taxpayers billions of dollars," according to spokeswoman Lauren Bis. Trump said to reporters, "If somebody is dishonest, I consider them not only against the country; I consider that dishonest against me." This fight is crucial because it signifies what may be ahead in 2028. Sen. Johnson is up for reelection then and may be trying to distance himself from Trump in the key swing state of Wisconsin.

"Federal Judgeships" – Given the midterm defeats, the White House is trying to get several more federal judicial nominees confirmed before Democrats take control in January. The problem is that some key pre-Republican senators are trying to block their own president's nominations. Departing Sens. Thom Tillis (R) and John Cornyn (R) Texas both sit on the Senate Judiciary Committee. Both have been at odds with Trump over the years, and are now saying they may block at least five Trump federal judge appointees before the end of the year. It is not uncommon for an outgoing majority to try to ram through judicial appointments before they lose power, but the intraparty fight is fascinating.

"Scott Bessent Moved to Safety" – I have worried for some time now that there would be terrorist attacks on U.S. soil, in the wake of the Iran War. Wednesday, the Treasury Department confirmed that Secretary Scott Bessent and his family have been moved to an undisclosed military base for their safety. Sources say Iran was plotting to target Bessent and that the plan was at "more than an advanced stage." Bessent is openly gay and has a husband and two children born through surrogacy. Iran is known for its official state hatred for the LGBTQ+ community, and it has been known to kill gay people by tossing them off rooftops of tall buildings. It's not known if that's why he is being targeted, but it's a policy worth knowing. Hegseth also led the harsh economic sanctions against Iran. The Treasury Department issued a statement, saying, "The secretary would not be deterred by the Iranian regime's threats."

"Pete Hegseth Impeachment" – A Republican effort to impeach Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth failed this past week, but it's likely not over yet. Rep. Thomas Massie (R) of Kentucky authored the articles of impeachment, which were supported by Democrats. Regarding Hegseth's behavior, Massie said the secretary "knowingly executed and implemented unlawful orders." There was a procedural vote to instead send the impeachment to the appropriate committee, and it passed on a vote of 211 to 204. It's important to note that 11 Democrats missed the vote, or it would have been defeated. Several of the Democrats say they were stuck in bad Washington traffic. Nonetheless, impeachment of Hegseth is likely to return when Democrats take control of the House in January. Hegseth criticized the impeachment effort, saying, "This is not patriotism. This is sabotage."

"Hegseth Scolded at Tomb" – It hasn't been the best of weeks for Secretary Hegseth. Wednesday, he, his wife, and top staffers attended a Veterans Day tribute at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery. After the event with President Trump ended, Hegseth and his party climbed the steps of the Tomb to take photos, and someone in the group laughed loudly. This clearly violated Tomb rules and protocol, and one of the sentinels guarding the Tomb scolded them, shouting, "All visitors will maintain an atmosphere of silence and respect at all times." It was a clear rebuke to people who violated the rules. I've covered events there a number of times, and the restrictions on the press are tough, too. I thought Hegseth might have punished the soldier, but the opposite happened. On Thursday, he awarded Specialist Thomas Iglesias the Joint Service Commendation Medal and pinned it on him in person at the Pentagon. Hegseth said, "We love soldiers. We love standards. Well done, Specialist." Yes, the initial Hegseth behavior was disgraceful, but this was a classy and appropriate response.

"Supreme Court Border Wall" – It's been a tough couple of weeks for the Trump White House, but it scored at least one victory this past week. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Trump administration may resume construction of the border wall between the U.S. and Mexico, especially in the Big Bend National Park region of Texas. Customs and Border Protection Director Rodney Scott said in an AP interview that if there was a gap in the wall at Big Bend, then the cartels and drug smugglers would breach Texas there. But the wall has plenty of bipartisan opposition in Congress, including outgoing Sen. John Cornyn (R) of Texas, who wrote, "A combination of modern technology, adequate staffing, and meaningful cooperation with local officials and landowners offers a more sensible and effective path forward than indiscriminate construction of unnecessary barriers."

Mark Curtis, Ed.D., is a South Florida-based political writer and analyst who has covered news and politics nationwide for the past 50 years. He is a multiple award winner, including two prestigious Edward R. Murrow Awards. For ten years, he was the Chief Political Reporter for seven Nexstar Media TV stations, covering the Washington DC media market, West Virginia, and its five neighboring states. Curtis is a former Congressional Fellow who worked in the U.S. House and U.S. Senate. Over the years, he has contributed as a writer and analyst at Patch.com. His commentary and political analysis air every Friday at 1:45 p.m. ET on the 22-station West Virginia Metro News Radio Network. www.WVMetroNews.com.

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