Republicans control U.S. Senate, Democrats take U.S. House in elections

The Republican Party, led by U.S. President Donald
Trump, was able to retain control of the U.S. Senate in congressional elections
held on Nov. 6, while the Democrats took control of the
U.S. House of Representatives. Republicans boosted their Senate majority to 54
seats (from 51), while Democrats gained 34 seats to secure a majority and
control 222 seats in the U.S. House, according to the preliminary results. The
Democrat Party gains nonetheless fell short of expectations by party leaders
and polls. “Democrats have suffered big heartbreaks in 2018 midterm elections,”
tweeted CNN anchor Dana Bash.

Zenon Zawada: As we mentioned, these elections won’t affect
the strong U.S. support for Ukraine. The Democrats winning control of the U.S.
House means that investigations will continue of Trump’s alleged ties to
Russian officials. Yet Republicans improving their control of the U.S. Senate
means that Trump is not likely to be impeached.

The other important conclusion to be drawn from these
elections for Ukraine is that they help the re-election prospects of U.S.
President Trump. The vote revealed that the nation is highly polarized, as
evidenced by the support for radical Leftist candidates to the U.S. House. Yet
a slight majority of the public supports Trump’s economic policies and
anti-immigration agenda, as evidenced by the Republicans controlling the U.S.
Senate.

Trump remains a firm supporter of sanctions against
Russia and military aid to Ukraine. But as the tide in Europe turns in Putin’s
favor, which recent polls revealed is possible in the May 2019 European Parliament
elections, Trump is liable to
turn towards favoring Putin with that tide. Of course, any such moves are
likely to be resisted by the U.S. Congress.