How Trump plans to govern if Democrats take Congress

President Donald Trump’s White House has spent months preparing for a possible Democratic takeover of Congress, developing plans to keep advancing major parts of his agenda through executive power while bracing for investigations of his administration, according to a White House official and two people familiar with the plans.

Senior officials, including deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller and budget director Russell Vought, have been working with the White House Counsel’s Office since April to identify executive actions on immigration, tariffs, housing costs and federal spending that Trump could pursue without congressional approval, said the three people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

White House counsel Will Scharf and his team also 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,” the White House official said.

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The planning underscores a paradox of Tuesday’s midterm elections: Capturing control of Congress would give Democrats the power to investigate Trump, block legislation and constrain his spending priorities. But Trump would retain broad executive authority over trade, foreign policy and the federal bureaucracy that he has already used aggressively during his second term.

Democrats need a net gain of four seats in the US House of Representatives as well as the US Senate to overturn Republicans’ narrow 218-214 and 53-47 majorities. Opinion polls favor Democrats to win the House, while the Senate remains too close to call.

2:01 Trump attempts final pitch to voters as midterm elections draw near

For the past month, Trump has held rallies across the country trying to preserve Republican control of Congress, even as his aides privately prepare for a very different political landscape in 2027.

The White House pushed back on the prospect of Republican losses and accused the media of promoting a false narrative.

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“This administration and commonsense Republicans will continue to secure our borders, restore law and order, putting more money back into the pockets of hard-working Americans, and deliver wins for the American people,” White House spokeswoman Lauren Bis said.

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Among the executive actions under consideration are new tariffs on imports of critical minerals and wind turbines, tighter rules on visas for international students and temporary foreign workers, and measures aimed at lowering housing and construction costs, the White House official said.

Federal agencies have submitted proposals and legal reviews of actions the administration could take unilaterally, one of the people with knowledge of the plans said.

Vought, whose US Office of Management and Budget oversees federal spending, is examining which priorities can move forward using money already appropriated by Congress, two of the people said.

He also wants to change federal grant rules to give political appointees more say in which government programs receive taxpayer money, they said, potentially giving the White House more influence over federal spending without seeking congressional approval.

Trump has been briefed on the preparations and has taken part in discussions about them, the White House official said.

When asked how comfortable Trump would be governing through executive authority under a Democratic Congress, one of the people said, “very comfortable.”

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1:59 Republican support seems to be eroding as Trump tries to shore up support in U.S.

Governing without Congress

Trump has already tested the reach of presidential power since returning to office in January 2025, using executive authority to impose sweeping tariffs, intensify immigration enforcement, shrink the federal workforce, and pursue foreign-policy goals including the war against Iran without Congress’ approval or new laws.

A major exception was Trump’s massive package of tax and spending cuts that was passed by the Republican-controlled Congress and signed into law by the president in July 2025.

“President Trump in the last two years has basically ignored Congress and tried to do as much as possible through executive orders and executive power,” said Nathan Gonzales, editor at Inside Elections, which provides nonpartisan political analysis. “I think he will only continue if there are Democratic majorities.”

Trump has repeatedly invoked national emergencies to expand his ability to act without new legislation. Congress can vote to end those emergencies, but Trump could veto such a move, requiring two-thirds majorities in both chambers to override him.

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A Democratic Congress could still create significant obstacles.

Control of the Senate would allow Democrats to block Trump’s judicial and executive-branch nominees, including any Supreme Court pick.

“I would anticipate they will be very reluctant to approve any of the president’s appointments,” said Andrew Busch, a public policy professor at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and author of a history of midterm elections.

Democrats could also refuse to pass Trump-backed legislation. But Trump could veto Democratic legislation he doesn’t like, and Democrats are unlikely to have enough votes in the House to override him.

Courts could block executive actions that exceed Trump’s legal authority. The White House plans to seek legal opinions from the Justice Department to determine what Trump can do without Congress and how to defend those actions if they are challenged in court, one of the people said.

1:57 How Democrats could challenge Trump’s tariff powers if they win Congress

Democratic investigations

One challenge, however, cannot be sidestepped through executive action: congressional investigations.

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Reuters previously reported that senior House Democrats and committee aides have discussed using hearings, subpoenas and document requests to examine whether Trump has used his presidential power to benefit himself, allies or donors.

Trump aides have been preparing for that prospect for months, all three people said.

White House lawyers have been briefing political appointees and agency leaders on how to handle congressional inquiries, document requests and subpoenas, one person said. They have advised officials to be careful about what they put in writing.

They also sought a Justice Department opinion that could allow Trump to invoke executive privilege to shield communications with private advisers from congressional scrutiny, the person said.

(Reporting by Nandita Bose and Tim Reid in Washington; Editing by Colleen Jenkins and Alistair Bell)