Only two presidents in recent decades have seen their party gain House seats in midterm elections.
President Donald Trump said in an interview that he is unsure whether Republicans will retain the House in the 2026 midterm elections.
In an interview with The Wall Street Journal on Dec. 12, Trump said that while efforts to attract more investment in the United States will help boost the economy, they may not materialize before the 2026 elections. He said he hoped the boost to the economy could occur in the second quarter of next year.
When asked whether Republicans could lose the House during the midterms, Trump said, “I can’t tell you. I don’t know when all of this money is going to kick in.”
Republicans currently hold 220 seats in the lower chamber, compared with the Democrats’ 212. The GOP also has a 53–47 lead in the Senate.
Only two presidents in recent decades have seen their party gain House seats in midterm elections: Bill Clinton in 1998 and George W. Bush in 2002.
“Even those that had, you know, a successful presidency” suffered congressional losses, Trump told the Journal.
“So that’s the only thing that fights against us. I don’t know why that is,” he said.
Trump, in part, campaigned on an economic message to propel himself to victory in 2024, including lowering gas and housing prices. Some of that messaging was intertwined with the mass deportation of illegal immigrants, which Trump said would lead to lower prices on certain goods and services.
“I think by the time we have to talk about the election, which is in another few months, I think our prices are in good shape,” the president told the Journal, adding that he has “created the greatest economy in history. But it may take people a while to figure all these things out.”
He added that “car plants, AI, lots of stuff” are seeing more investments, but “[I] cannot tell you how that’s going to equate to the voter, all I can do is do my job.”
Since the off-year elections last month, Trump and White House officials have focused on an economic message, including increased tax refunds for Americans and the possibility of sending out $2,000 payments derived from the administration’s tariffs.
