WASHINGTON — The Democratic Party's sweeping victory in the United States midterm elections on November 3, 2026, could trigger the biggest reassessment of American support for Israel in decades, according to Reuters reporting on November 4. Democrats won control of both the Senate and the House of Representatives, and many of the winning candidates were progressives who campaigned against military aid to Israel and against the US-Israeli war on Iran.
The result lands at a moment when the old bipartisan consensus on Israel is already under strain. Israel's campaign in Gaza and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's close embrace of President Donald Trump and other Republicans had strained decades of bipartisan support before a single midterm ballot was counted, Reuters reported. Now, with Democrats set to take the gavels in January, that strain is about to be tested in public — through hearings, scrutiny of aid, and challenges to the administration's nominees — even though the president's veto power sharply limits what Congress can force through on its own.
Illustration: The United States Capitol in Washington, where the new Democratic majorities will take their seats in January.
What Happened
Democrats captured majorities in both chambers in Tuesday's midterms, an election shaped in part by anger over the Iran war, Reuters reported. CNN's analysis of the results described a historic Democratic wave that swept the party into power in Congress and in statehouses across the country, as voters rebuked President Trump and rejected candidates he had backed in key races.
In the Senate, Democrats flipped seven Republican-held seats to claim the majority, winning races in Iowa, Kansas, Maine, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina and Texas, according to CNN. Among the headline results, Democrats won a Senate race in Kansas for the first time since the 1930s and a Senate seat in South Carolina that they had lost when Strom Thurmond switched parties in the 1960s. In Texas, Democrat James Talarico defeated Republican Ken Paxton in what became the most expensive Senate race in US history, while Democrat Gina Hinojosa defeated three-term Republican Governor Greg Abbott in the governor's race — the party's first statewide wins in Texas since 1994, CNN reported.
One of the most symbolic victories came in Michigan, where Abdul El-Sayed became the first Muslim elected to the US Senate, despite what Reuters described as one of the most overtly Islamophobic campaigns in modern US politics. El-Sayed, 42, a Michigan-born Egyptian American and former Detroit health director, ran as a progressive focused on healthcare and the cost of living. President Trump had repeatedly branded him a jihadist, and his Republican opponent, Mike Rogers, had questioned his loyalty to America, Reuters reported. El-Sayed disavowed the Muslim Brotherhood and denied any association with it, and Reuters noted that no evidence has emerged linking him to the group.
There were also signs that Republicans themselves might re-examine their party's traditional support for Israel. Vice President JD Vance on Wednesday blamed the election rout on the war against Iran and identified Israel as an issue for Republicans, Reuters reported. In a social media post, Vance said one pollster had identified four actions that would bring disgruntled Trump voters back: "1) End the war 2) Focus on cost of living/inflation 3) Put America First 4) Change our relationship to Israel."
President Trump, meanwhile, announced in a Fox News interview on Tuesday that he had made a deal with Netanyahu under which Washington would end annual security assistance to Israel. Reuters reported, however, that it was not immediately clear that he had the legal authority to stop the billions of dollars in military assistance Washington sends Israel each year.
Illustration: The flags of the United States and Israel, symbols of an alliance now facing its deepest political reassessment in decades.
Background
American support for Israel has for decades been one of the most reliable bipartisan commitments in US foreign policy, with Congress approving billions of dollars in military assistance each year with little dissent. That consensus has been fraying, Reuters reported, as opinion polls show younger voters — including some Republicans — feel the country has been too supportive of Israel and insufficiently supportive of residents of the Palestinian territories.
The shift was already visible before the midterms. In September, 46 of the 47 members of the Senate Democratic caucus voted for a resolution to force the Trump administration to report to Congress on increasing violence against Palestinians by Israeli settlers in the West Bank, Reuters reported. Republicans blocked the measure, but the near-unanimous Democratic vote was a sharp departure from decades of reliable bipartisan backing for Israel.
The war with Iran, which Trump began in February 2026 according to Reuters, has accelerated the change. Opinion polls showed the Iran war was a top election issue, with many Americans blaming higher prices — especially for gasoline — on the conflict. The US and Israel attacked Iran on February 28, and Iran responded with strikes on Israel and Gulf states hosting US bases, Reuters reported in a separate article. Trump acknowledged in interviews that the war had played a role in the Republican defeats but said he stood by his decision.
On the Israeli side, the political ground is also moving. Netanyahu lost his governing majority in an October 27 Israeli election but denied opponents a clear path to unseat him, Reuters reported, and negotiations to form a new government are expected to be protracted. A new Israeli government, particularly one less closely tied to Republicans, could engage in a more cooperative way with Democrats, according to Jonathan Schanzer, executive director of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies think tank, which advocates for a strong US-Israel alliance.
Why It Matters
The practical power of the new Congress is real but bounded, and both sides of the debate acknowledged the limits. Trump has promised to be "Mr. Veto," Reuters reported, and Democrats are unlikely to muster the two-thirds majorities needed to override his vetoes if he refuses to sign their bills. What Democratic control does bring is the power of scrutiny: greater oversight of military aid, renewed focus on West Bank violence, public hearings, and the ability to hold up nominees and force the administration to justify assistance deals.
"We need to make sure that we apply our laws and international law and our policies uniformly across the board when it comes to the actions of countries. There should not be an Israel exception," Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, who has led attempts to put human rights conditions on Israel aid, told Reuters. Democrats will likely focus again on West Bank violence, the agency reported.
The more surprising dynamic may be on the right. William Wechsler, senior director of Middle East programs at the Atlantic Council, told Reuters that Congress can "make a lot of noise" — threatening to hold up nominees, creating questions about assistance deals, and forcing the president to issue waivers if he lifts sanctions. And with enough resistance to sending US tax dollars abroad, plus anger over the Iran war, the "America First" wing of the Republican Party could also push back, Reuters reported.
The election result could see "weird bedfellows of left and right come together in condemnation of Israel," said Price Floyd, a former US official and senior adviser with Argyll Strategy, a London-based strategic communications firm, in comments to Reuters. That left-right convergence, if it materialises, would be a genuinely new feature of the US debate — and a measure of how far the politics of the alliance have moved.
Illustration: A congressional hearing chamber, where the new Democratic majorities will be able to summon administration officials to testify.
What Happens Next
Nothing changes immediately. As Schanzer told Reuters: "Nothing is going to change in the United States until January when Congress takes their seats and by then, there may be a new Israeli government that would also have an impact on this." The calendar therefore matters: the new Congress and a potentially new Israeli government could arrive at roughly the same time, and the tone of the relationship may depend heavily on who leads each side.
Watch for four things in the coming weeks. First, the final shape of the Democratic majorities, as a small number of races — including Senate contests in Alaska and Mississippi — remained undecided in early counting, according to USA Today. Second, the government-formation talks in Israel, where Netanyahu's opponents have no clear path to replace him despite his lost majority. Third, whether Trump follows through on his stated deal to end annual security assistance — and whether Congress or the courts test his legal authority to do so. And fourth, the first hearings of the new Congress, which will show whether Democratic scrutiny focuses on aid conditions, West Bank violence, the Iran war, or all three at once.
For now, the central fact is political rather than legislative: an alliance that once commanded near-automatic bipartisan support has become a live electoral question in the United States, and the party that just won Congress campaigned, in part, on asking harder questions about it.
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FAQ
What did Democrats win in the 2026 midterms?
According to Reuters and CNN, Democrats won control of both the Senate and the House of Representatives on November 3, 2026, flipping seven Republican-held Senate seats in Iowa, Kansas, Maine, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina and Texas.
Why would a Democratic Congress change US policy toward Israel?
Many winning Democratic candidates were progressives who campaigned against military aid to Israel and the US-Israeli war on Iran, Reuters reported. Democratic control brings powers of scrutiny — hearings, oversight of aid, focus on West Bank violence, and challenges to nominees — even though the president's veto limits forced legislative change.
What did JD Vance say about Israel after the election?
Reuters reported that Vice President JD Vance blamed the Republican rout on the war against Iran and identified Israel as an issue for Republicans, citing a pollster's four steps to win back disgruntled Trump voters, including "Change our relationship to Israel."
Did Trump really agree to end security assistance to Israel?
Trump announced in a Fox News interview that he had made a deal with Netanyahu under which Washington would end annual security assistance to Israel, Reuters reported. However, Reuters noted it was not immediately clear that he had the legal authority to stop the billions in annual military assistance.
When will any of this actually take effect?
Not until January, when the new Congress takes its seats, according to Jonathan Schanzer of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. By then, Israel may also have a new government, following Netanyahu's loss of his governing majority in the October 27 election.
Sources
- Reuters, "Democratic Congress could test decades of US support for Israel," November 4, 2026.
- Reuters, "European far right distances itself from Trump, blaming Iran war for Republicans' defeat," November 4, 2026.
- Reuters, "Iranian officials gloat as US voters deal blow to Trump," November 4, 2026.
- CNN, "A historic blue wave, a stunning rejection of Trump and other takeaways from the midterms," November 4, 2026.
- USA Today, midterm election results live coverage, November 4, 2026.
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