Legislative chamber
Appears in 22 stories · Last updated Nov 10, 2026
Advanced the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act 73-25 on Nov. 9; amendment votes and a full vote are expected later this month
The Senate voted 73-25 on Nov. 9 to open debate on the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act, a permitting overhaul that would speed reviews for energy projects and make large data centers pay more for grid upgrades. It is not the House's SPEED Act, which passed in December 2025 and has sat in the Senate since.
Updated Yesterday
Democrats will control floor and confirmations
Democrats won the House and Senate in the 2026 midterms and will take control on Jan. 3. They hold at least 54 Senate seats, with Alaska and Mississippi still uncalled, and passed the 218-seat House threshold. Hakeem Jeffries is set to become the first Black speaker; Chuck Schumer will run the Senate floor.
Updated 2 days ago
Democrats won control and will take the majority in January.
Democrats won control of the House and Senate in the Nov. 3 midterms, according to projections from NBC News and The New York Times. The Times reported that Democrats flipped seven Senate seats and overcame a Republican redistricting effort to take the House.
Flipped to Democratic control after a 54-44 Democratic win
Democrats won control of both chambers of Congress in the 2026 midterms, taking at least 228 House seats and 54 Senate seats. Republicans now hold 139 House seats and 44 Senate seats, with 34 House races still uncalled.
Updated 3 days ago
Set to have a Democratic majority in the 120th Congress
Democrats flipped both chambers of Congress in the 2026 midterms, and the Senate class arriving in January will look unlike any before it. It includes the first Muslim senator, the first Native American woman senator, the first openly gay man elected to the Senate and the Senate's first Paralympian.
Democrats won control in the 2026 midterms
Democrats won control of the U.S. House and Senate in the Nov. 3 midterms, with results reported through Nov. 5. They also won governorships in Texas, Georgia, Nevada, Ohio and Iowa.
Updated 4 days ago
Democratic majority after 2026 midterms
James Talarico, a 37-year-old state legislator and former middle school teacher, beat Republican Ken Paxton in Texas's Senate race on November 3, 2026. Final returns showed Talarico with 55.1% to Paxton's 43%, a 12.1-point margin and the first Democratic Senate win in Texas since 1988.
Updated 5 days ago
Hamilton to be seated Jan. 3, 2027
Kansas elected Democrat Adam Hamilton to the U.S. Senate on Nov. 3, the first Democrat to win a Kansas Senate race since 1932. Hamilton, a Methodist pastor who was registered as a Republican until earlier this year and had never held public office, beat Republican incumbent Roger Marshall 51% to 46%, with Libertarian David Graham taking 3%. Marshall conceded and will leave office Jan. 3, 2027.
Set for Democratic majority in 2027
Democrats won control of both chambers of Congress on Nov. 3, 2026, flipping at least seven Senate seats and more than two dozen House districts, the Associated Press reported. The Senate wins included Kansas and Texas, where Democrats had not won Senate seats since 1932 and 1988, and South Carolina, where Annie Andrews was projected to become the state's first Democratic senator in almost three decades.
Updated 6 days ago
Control shifts to Democrats
Susan Collins had held Maine's Senate seat since 1996, winning five elections in a state that otherwise votes Democratic. On Tuesday, Troy Jackson, a fifth-generation logger and former state Senate president, beat her.
Updated 7 days ago
Passed the Common Cents Act by voice vote on September 28, 2026
President Trump has not signed the Common Cents Act, three weeks after the Senate passed it. The bill would make permanent the halt in penny production that began in November 2025 and sets a national standard for rounding cash sales to the nearest nickel.
Updated Oct 21
Voted 47-51 to block the resolution
The Senate voted 47-51 in late September to block a resolution that would have forced the State Department to report on the killings of nine American citizens in the West Bank by Israeli settlers or security forces since 2022. Days later, the New York Times reported that a US Embassy official in Israel suppressed a staff report that said no one had been held accountable for any of the deaths.
Updated Oct 18
Passed the bill and sent it to the House
Drafted by the late Lindsey Graham and signed into law September 18, the Graham Act lets Trump tariff the five largest buyers of Russian crude oil or natural gas up to 100%. China, India and several European countries are among the largest buyers.
As of October 2026: Voted 57-43 on September 30 to advance the House bill, three votes short of the 60 needed; four Democrats crossed over
The House voted 417–3 on September 16 to pass the Ratepayer Protection Act, which tells state regulators to hold hearings on whether data centers drawing 100 megawatts or more should pay the full cost of the power infrastructure built for them. States can hold the hearings and decline to adopt the standard, and the Senate fell three votes short of advancing the bill on September 30, 57–43.
Updated Oct 3
As of September 2026: Passed the war powers resolution 50-48 on June 23, then rejected follow-ups 47-49 in July and 49-50 on Sept. 24
The House passed a war powers resolution 215-208 on June 3. The Senate followed 50-48 in late June, the first time both chambers approved such a measure in this conflict. President Trump ignored it, the ceasefire collapsed in July, and the Senate rejected the latest resolution 49-50 on Sept. 24 as the war passed 200 days.
Updated Sep 25
As of August 2026: Companion FY27 defense bill contains no provision blocking DoD funding for the union order, setting up a conference fight with the House; S.2837 remains stalled at 49 of 60 votes needed
Donald Trump's March 2025 order stripping collective bargaining rights from most of the federal workforce has survived its biggest court test. In June 2026, the Ninth Circuit closed off any further appeal in the union's lead case, clearing the way for agencies to keep canceling contracts nationwide.
Updated Aug 8
As of June 2026: Passed the bill
ICE and Border Patrol budgets normally have to be renegotiated every year, which gives both parties leverage during shutdown fights. Early Friday, the Senate voted 52-47 to fund them for three years straight, through the end of President Trump's term.
Updated Jun 5
As of May 2026: Floor vote scheduled for week of March 16 amid filibuster fight
Since 1993, Americans have registered to vote by attesting to their citizenship under penalty of perjury, with no proof required. The House passed the SAVE America Act 218-213 on February 11, 2026, mandating in-person documentary proof (a passport, birth certificate, or naturalization papers) for federal election registration.
Updated May 27
As of May 2026: Defeated war powers resolution 50-51
Congress hasn't declared war since 1942, though presidents have ordered 212 military strikes without formal declarations. On January 3, 2026, U.S. special forces raided Venezuela, captured President Nicolás Maduro in his residence, and flew him to New York to face narcoterrorism charges.
Updated May 22
As of May 2026: Bipartisan working group negotiations collapsed; FY2026 funding bill passed without ACA subsidy provisions
Enhanced premium tax credits expired January 1, 2026. By late January, 1.2 to 1.4 million fewer Americans had enrolled for marketplace coverage, with total 2026 enrollment at 22.8–22.9 million.
Updated May 11
As of May 2026: Passed final NDAA 77–20 on December 17, preserving 65-year streak and sending bill to Trump.
President Trump signed a nearly $901 billion defense bill into law on December 18, 2025, cementing the 65th consecutive year Congress has passed a National Defense Authorization Act. It delivers troops a 3.8% pay raise and locks in $800 million for Ukraine weapons over two years.
Updated May 10
As of May 2026: Investigating legality of boat strikes and Venezuela operation
On December 5, 2025, the Trump administration released a 33-page National Security Strategy declaring a Trump Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine. The document formally revives the 19th-century idea of the Western Hemisphere as a U.S. sphere of influence and promises to reassert American preeminence across the Americas.
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