US midterms approach as Trump's popularity tanks

Thank you, Nick.

Bruce, we should start with the basics.

What is at stake here in these US midterm elections? Why is the control of Congress so very important?

Uh, it's important because the Congress legislates everything that President Trump wants to enact, and if, uh, the Congress goes away from the Republican Party, Trump's legislative program will come to an end.

Uh, the Congress also has special powers of oversight, authorizing the spending of money, and they can, they will exercise it.

It means that the future of Trump's presidency is in the balance in these midterm elections.

Will it be effective or not?

And they also have subpoena power, don't they, if they win control of the, the House and Senate? They can carry out investigations, and you would expect, Bruce, that they will be hauling a lot of senior administration officials up to, to Capitol Hill for a grilling if they do come out of these elections with control of either the House or the Senate, or even both.

We saw that exactly in the first term when the Democrats won the midterm elections.

Nancy Pelosi became speaker.

Ultimately, that led to two impeachments-

Mm

... of the president.

But if the Senate goes Democratic as well, the Senate has special powers.

Uh, his cabinet appointees must be confirmed, Supreme Court justices, military officers, other high officials, and so that will come to an end unless he puts up people that the Democrats can accept.

So in other words, his power is diminished, his ability to do things is diminished, and, uh, it will mean that we will not see the effectiveness of his power that we've seen in the first two years of this second term.

Although worth pointing out that those cabinet officials that have already been confirmed by the Senate won't have to seek reconfirmation, will they? That's a key point to make.

That's true, but a key, but a key thing after, uh, the midterm elections is that a lot of people use this as an opportunity to leave.

Yeah, they do.

Yeah.

Uh, most famously, Bush's Secretary of Defense, Rumsfeld, he was forced out because of the Iraq war right after the midterm elections in 2006.

So there will be a lot of upheaval inside the administration.