The Democratic Party’s resounding victories at US midterm elections on November 3 have dealt Republicans a stinging rebuke and pushed President Donald Trump into lame-duck territory, with an incoming Congress poised to frustrate his legislative agenda and intensify scrutiny of the Iran war.
With his domestic power sharply circumscribed, analysts say Trump may increasingly turn his attention abroad, where the White House enjoys greater freedom to maneuver. They say the risk is that a politically boxed-in president seeks to reassert his power overseas, including through renewed military action against Tehran.
Steven Okun, chief executive of APAC Advisors, a Singapore-based strategic consultancy, believes the war’s trajectory will prove difficult to change. Trump campaigned against “forever wars,” but “it’s hard to get out of them,” he told Asia Times, noting that the president will retain broad authority over foreign policy despite a Democrat-controlled Congress.
Those Democratic majorities can subpoena administration officials, launch investigations and scrutinize the conduct and cost of the Iran war. Vice President JD Vance cited the conflict as “the reason we lost” the midterms, while Trump acknowledged after the vote that high gas prices had contributed to the Republicans defeat.
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Nile Bowie is an international correspondent and news editor at Asia Times. He can be reached at nilebowie@gmail.com.
