What a Democratic Congress can and cannot do about Trump's war, tariffs and visa curbs | HT Explainers

Democrats will control both chambers of the US Congress from January, with the November 3 midterm elections handing them key victories over the Republicans. That gives the party new powers to investigate, block and withhold money from Donald Trump’s administration, but most of what the President has done abroad since returning to office still rests on authority he can go on using without their votes.

The US Capitol is seen in Washington, DC, on November 3, 2026 on the day of the US midterm elections. (AFP)Democratic control will allow the party to pursue investigations into the Iran war, immigration enforcement and allegations of corruption, while blocking Trump's legislation and senior appointments, AFP reported. Robert Garcia, a Democratic congressman from California expected to lead the House Oversight Committee – the chamber's main investigative panel – warned Republicans on social media: “LAWYER UP.”

But, even after January 3, Democrats will lack the 60 Senate votes needed to overcome a filibuster, the tactic that lets a minority block most bills by refusing to end debate, although nominations and some fast-track resolutions need only a simple majority. Trump can also veto any bill passed by the Congress, and overriding it takes two-thirds of both chambers.

James Lindsay of the Council on Foreign Relations, a US think-tank, argues that the party controlling Congress has leverage where a president needs legislative consent, and that Trump has not needed it for the Iran war or his global tariffs as yet.

In June, both chambers narrowly passed a resolution directing Trump to halt US military action against Iran, under a 1973 law on when a president may commit US forces to hostilities without the Congress’s approval, Reuters reported. The White House said it was “not constitutional and thus not binding”.

The Iran war, which began on February 28, has cost more than $47 billion, according to Pentagon data reported by Reuters.

A Democratic majority in Congress would add little by voting again, but its real leverage could lie in spending. Democratic lawmakers have introduced measures to ban new funds for the war, though the Pentagon’s existing funds mean operations would not have to stop at once even if the Congress refused new money.

Current government funding expires on December 11, before the new Congress takes office, and Senate Democrats can filibuster a spending bill at the risk of a government shutdown. From January 2027, House Democrats will write the spending bills, and Trump could veto any that bars money for the war.

According to a report published by HT, US forces in West Asia were ready to launch “a big effort” in Iran after the midterms, which – if the plan went ahead – would put fresh operations under way before Democrats can act on funding.

Matt Duss, executive vice-president at the Center for International Policy, a Washington think tank, had told HT he expected hearings on the war and “an attempt to focus on secretary of defense Pete Hegseth, possibly to move forward with an impeachment”. The House can impeach with a simple majority, but removal needs two-thirds of the Senate.

Congress has fewer ways to influence the energy price crisis linked to the war, since the administration has eased supply through executive steps such as the temporary waiver letting countries buy Russian oil.

For India, which wants a swift end to the fighting, the stakes include disrupted shipping, fuel prices and citizen-seafarers killed in attacks on vessels.

The administration has held on to its tariffs by moving from one law to another. After the Supreme Court struck down the tariffs Trump had imposed under an emergency-powers law in February, the administration used a trade law that allowed temporary tariffs for up to 150 days, and from July this year, switched to duties under another law, justified by investigations into forced labour. The US Congress handed these powers to presidents decades ago, and taking them back would need a law, which Trump could veto.

The newest tariff power came from the US Congress recently. The Graham Act, which passed with large bipartisan majorities and which Trump signed on September 19, allows tariffs of up to 100% on the five largest buyers of Russian oil and gas, with exemptions for European allies but none for India or China.

On October 16, though, Trump waived almost all of its measures, citing the national interest.

India, one of the biggest buyers of Russian oil, had warned Washington that the tariffs could affect bilateral ties. The White House has said it “retains the ability to exercise these authorities at any time”.

Still, Democrats can question these decisions in hearings and refuse any new tariff power Trump seeks. Executive arrangements such as the interim trade framework that India and the US had agreed to in February this year don’t need a Congress vote.

Gregory Meeks, the New York Democrat expected to chair the House Foreign Affairs Committee, has long supported the US-India partnership and has disagreed with the administration's handling of ties with India, HT reported.

Indians accounted for an estimated 71% of approved applications for H-1B visas, which allow US employers to hire skilled foreign workers, in recent years, according to US government figures reported by PTI.

India also sent 363,019 students to the US in 2024-25, more than any other country, according to the Institute of International Education, a US non-profit.

Most of the changes affecting these workers and students came through proclamations and agency rules, which do not need Congress approvals.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) reweighted the H-1B lottery towards higher-paid applicants and ended automatic extensions of work permits for people awaiting renewal. From September 15, students on F-1 visas are admitted for a fixed four-year period instead of for as long as they remain enrolled.

Trump also imposed a $100,000 charge on new H-1B petitions by proclamation in September 2025. In June, Leo Sorokin, a federal judge in Boston, ruled in a case brought by 20 Democratic state attorneys general that “the substance and application of the $100,000 payment reveal that it is a tax”, one that the US Congress never authorised.

Trump renewed the proclamation in September, and the government is appealing the ruling.

DHS has since proposed rebuilding the charge as a fee. A rule published in late August would charge $103,265 for each new H-1B petition subject to the annual cap, under DHS’s power to recover the cost of its services.

The administration is also considering a $100,000 fee on Optional Practical Training (OPT), which lets foreign graduates work in the US after their studies, and a refundable green-card bond of up to $100,000.

If the Boston ruling holds on appeal, charges of this size could need the US Congress’s approval, and a Democratic majority can withhold it. The party would likely do this only if it chooses to fight Trump on legal immigration. So far, Democrats’ fight on immigration this year has been over the use of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents.

DHS funding lapsed for 11 weeks from February after Democrats demanded limits on how ICE agents were operating. The deal that ended the shutdown left out ICE and the Border Patrol, which had received more than $130 billion through a budget law last year.

The US Congress has less reach over rules already in force. It can vote to overturn the F-1 rule, but Trump could veto the resolution. And the agency that processes visa petitions is funded mainly by application fees rather than by the Congress, which blunts any attempt to cut off its money.

Trump’s October 16 order also waived the Graham Act’s sanctions on Russia, and a separate US Treasury licence allows imports of Russian diesel until April 2027.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky has said on X that reversing the measures “definitely helps only the Russians”, and lawmakers from both Republicans and Democrats criticised the waiver, Reuters reported.

The Graham Act passed by margins wide enough to override a veto, 86-11 in the Senate and 262-159 in the House, and Russia is the issue on which a bipartisan majority against Trump is most likely to form.

Democrats could try to curb the waiver power by law, but they would need the support of many Republicans to back the Act to vote against the president.

A Ukraine aid bill the House had passed in June over the objections of its Republican leaders stalled in the Senate, AP reported. A Democratic-majority Senate could bring such a bill to a vote, though it would still need 60 votes and Trump’s sign-off.

For India, a Congress pressing harder on Russia would mean closer attention to its purchases of Russian oil, which the waived tariffs targeted.

Hakeem Jeffries, the Democratic leader in the House, who could become its first Black Speaker in January, has said regulating AI will be a legislative priority. Sweeping AI legislation would still need Republican votes in the Senate and could face Trump’s veto.

Lawmakers of both parties have found more common ground on export controls.

After Trump approved sales of Nvidia's H200 AI chips to China, the House Foreign Affairs Committee voted 42-2 in January to advance a bill letting Congress review and block licences to export advanced AI chips to China and other adversaries. A Democratic House would have to revive it in the new Congress, since bills that do not pass before a Congress ends lapse.

The Biden administration capped sales of AI chips to India and several other countries in early 2025, a move the Trump administration later reversed, and New Delhi will watch whether a more hawkish Congress tightens controls again.

HT Explainers Desk delivers in-depth explainers and analysis on the stories shaping India and the world, from SimplyPut, Hindustan Times’ dedicated explainer section. The desk unpacks the science, policy, geopolitics and market forces behind major news events, breaking down complex developments into clear, accessible reporting for readers who want more than the headline. Explainers draw on the expertise of the journalists covering the story and insight from leading subject experts, translating specialist detail into plain language without losing precision or nuance. Coverage spans national and global news — from health and science breakthroughs to trade, technology, cybersecurity, aviation, energy and public policy — going beyond what happened to explain how it works, why it matters and what to watch next. Written for readers who want context, and not just the headlines, HT Explainers Desk brings together original reporting, data and expert analysis to make sense of the news as it develops. It is part of Hindustan Times, India's leading source for news, in-depth analysis and explanatory journalism since 1924.Read More