Trump’s fear of losing Republican control of Congress is palpable.
By Mary Alice Miller
The sitting presidential party has lost control of either the House or the House and Senate six times since 1934. Only three presidents—FDR, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush—gained seats in the House of Representatives for their parties at midterms.
Why would Trump be so concerned?
Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries is poised to become Speaker if Democrats take control of the House of Representatives.
Considering Trump’s demonstrated opinions of people of color, a Speaker Jeffries would be his worst nightmare.
Trump is saying and doing anything in his power to undermine the upcoming November Midterm Elections.
The Trump administration’s Education Department allocated investments of $174 million to historically Black colleges and universities and $61 million to tribal colleges, a divide and conquer tactic. The “one-time” investments were diverted from funding for Hispanic-serving and Alaska Native-, Native Hawaiian-, Asian American-, and Native American Pacific Islander-serving institutions.
In response, the Chairs of the Congressional Tri-Caucus—Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC) Chair Rep. Grace Meng (NY-06), Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) Chair Rep. Yvette Clarke (NY-09), and Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) Chair Rep. Adriano Espaillat (NY-13) issued a joint statement calling the move “a cynical ploy to pit minority communities against each other.”
During the Republican midterm convention, Trump promised a $5,000 dividend to all adult Americans if Republicans retain control of the House and Senate in the midterm. The proposal would cost more than $1 trillion and requires Congressional approval.
Polling suggest voters would vote against the idea. They may remember the impacts of the promised $5,000 DOGE rebates and the $2,000 tariff refund.
A year ago, Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) suggested that Democrats would move to impeach President Trump again if they regain the House majority in the 2026 midterm elections.
Later, at the Faith and Freedom Coalition conference in June, Speaker Johnson went on to suggest that if Democrats were to wrest control of the House from Republicans in the upcoming November midterms, potential Democratic committees would “go after” Trump’s family, donors, friends and Cabinet members.
Democrat-led investigative committees could expose the growth in Trump family wealth from an estimated $2.2 billion to nearly $4 billion during the first year of his second term, primarily from cryptocurrency ventures and global real estate, and brand licensing, as well as the connection between the Trump administration’s foreign policy and deals involving foreign sovereign wealth funds and tariffs.
And, in April, for the first time the NAACP in a statement demanded “urgent action to invoke the 25th Amendment in response to alarming signs of President Trump’s deteriorating health and increasingly delusional behavior… that poses a direct threat to the well-being of millions of Americans and the integrity of our armed forces. This is not merely a matter of political disagreement; it is a matter of national security, global stability, and the very fabric of our democracy.”
“This president is unfit, unwell, and unhinged,” said Derrick Johnson, President and CEO of the NAACP. “The rhetoric and behavior we are witnessing from Trump isn’t just alarming, it’s dangerous. When the person entrusted with the highest office in the land demonstrates a disregard for truth, stability, and the well-being of the American people, it’s a threat to the entire nation and the world. Trump must be immediately removed from office.”
Republicans are very vulnerable to losing both the House and Senate. The GOP holds a 218-212 majority in the House as of June 26. Democrats would need to pick up four seats to win control or three seats to tie.
This razor-thin lead may be why Trump ordered Texas to gerrymander five new Republican seats in August 2025. Since then, both Democratic and Republican majority states have jockeyed to redistrict their House maps.
Not satisfied with mixed results in state redistricting, Trump targeted mail-in voting.
By mid-September, the Supreme Court issued a decision that upheld a federal district court’s restraining order on USPS mail-in ballot restrictions.
The fight over how the USPS handles mail-in ballots will continue after the midterm elections.
Elections of interest to Central Brooklyn
Federal Elections:
Democrat Hakeem Jeffries (8th Congressional District) is running for re-election. He is being challenged by Republican Lewis Mizrahi.
Democrat Yvette Clarke (9th Congressional District) is running for re-election. She is being challenged by Republican Joel Azumah.
State Elections:
Governor Kathy Hochul is running for re-election with former Council Speaker Adrienne Adams as Lieutenant Governor on the Democratic and Working Families Party lines. They are being challenged by Republicans Bruce Blakeman and Todd Hood.
Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli is running for re-election on the Democratic/Working Families Party lines. He is being challenged by Joseph Hernandez on Republican/Conservative Party lines.
Attorney General Letitia James is running for re-election on the Democratic/Working Family Party lines. She is being challenged by Saritha Komatireddy on the Republican/Conservative lines.
Democrats State Senators Roxanne Persaud (19th Senatorial District), Zellnor Myrie (20th Senatorial District), and Jabari Brisport (25th Senatorial district) are running unopposed.
Democrat Kevin Parker (21st Senatorial District) is being challenged by Republican Ronald Seifert.
Democrat Assemblywoman Rodneyse Bichotte (42nd Assembly District) is being challenged by Republican Herman Hall.
Democrat Assemblyman Brian Cunningham (43rd Assembly District) is being challenged by Republican Anna Shpilkovskaya.
Democrat Assemblymembers Latrice Walker (55th Assembly District), Eon Huntley (56th Assembly District), and Monique Chandler-Waterman (58th Assembly District) are running unopposed.
Democrat Assemblywoman Nikki Lucas (60th Assembly District) is being challenged by Republican Norman Ramsay.
Local Elections:
Voters may see election contests for Justice of the Supreme Court and Judge of the Civil Court (County or District).
Ballot Proposals:
There will be five (5) proposals on the ballot, part of Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s agenda to streamline government processes and cut red tape for small businesses.
Proposal #1 would simplify the process to use public space for uses such as ramps, planters, and cafes, by removing mandatory hearings and Council disapproval of sidewalk cafes, while maintaining community and Council input;
Proposal #2 would simplify the city contracting process by authorizing the mayor to award contracts, reduce paperwork for small businesses and nonprofits looking to work with the city, and reduce reporting requirements;
Proposal #3 would simplify review of transportation-related street safety projects (like bike and bus lanes) to reduce construction timelines, speed up the sale of unused City property with approval from City Planning Commission, and speed up the leasing of offices used for City workforce;
Proposal #4 would create a centralized construction permits hub to simplify permitting and move waterfront permitting from Department of Small Business Services to Department of Buildings; and
Proposal #5 would set target amount of money to hold in reserve funds, including a rainy-day fund equal to at least 12% of the city’s previous year’s tax revenue, to address unexpected financial hardships in future years.