Trump veto threat shapes final midterm days

President Donald Trump says that, if Democrats win the House and Senate on Tuesday, he will take on the role of Trump veto threat.

He told an interviewer that he would become “Mr. Veto” and would not let Democrats “ruin it.”

What Trump veto threat would mean for Congress

Trump spoke in an interview, and a clip aired on Sunday. He said he would reject bills that a Democratic Congress sent him, but he also said he would “probably make deals” at some point.

Trump described how it might unfold. “They’ll be sending stuff up, you veto it,” he said. After a month or two of vetoes, he added, “they come over and you make a deal.”

At the same time, he hoped to avoid the scenario altogether. “Hopefully we don’t have to worry about that,” he said.

How a veto works

A bill that clears Congress lands on the president’s desk. A signature turns it into law, while a veto sends it back.

Congress can still push the bill through by overriding the veto. However, an override takes two-thirds of both the House and the Senate, whereas the first vote needed only a simple majority.

That high bar gives the Trump veto threat threat its force. Democrats might flip either chamber or both on Tuesday, yet two-thirds in either would almost certainly stay out of reach, so a veto would usually hold.

Gridlock cuts both ways

The power runs in both directions. A Democratic House or Senate could decline to pass what Trump wants. That would stall his own agenda too.

Government funding would feel the strain most, since agencies stay open only if Congress passes spending bills.

Trump has faced a divided Congress before. Republicans lost the House in 2018, during his first term, though they kept the Senate.

White House plans without Congress

Sources told a news agency that deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, budget director Russell Vought and the White House Counsel’s Office are planning ways to pursue Trump’s agenda without approval from lawmakers.

Those plans include signing executive orders. Trump has signed 512 of them across both terms, according to data from the American Presidency Project, with 220 in his first four years.

Polls show a tough race for Trump veto threat planning

Ahead of the midterm vote, polls show Republicans trailing in key races, including in traditionally red states like Texas and Kansas. An NBC poll found that 60 percent of voters disapprove of Trump, a record. Democrats lead by 7 points on which party should run Congress.

On Sunday, Trump traveled to rallies in Kansas and Iowa. He won both states three times in a row. Republican Senate candidates face tough challenges there. Every one of the 435 House seats is on the ballot, along with 35 of the 100 Senate seats.

Trump has insisted all along that Republicans will prevail. A president’s party usually loses seats in midterms. Tuesday’s result will decide whether he spends his last two years working with Republicans or facing a Democratic majority. For now, the Trump veto threat remark shows how he is already planning for a divided Congress.