WASHINGTON — Democrats won control of the US House of Representatives in Tuesday's midterm elections, according to projections by the Associated Press on Wednesday. The result ended two years of unified Republican government under President Donald Trump. Republicans were projected to keep their majority in the Senate.

Democrats needed a net gain of only three seats to overturn the narrow majority Republicans won in 2024. Gains in suburban districts in states including New York, California, Pennsylvania and Arizona delivered the change in control, according to AP tallies. Several races remained too close to call on Wednesday, and the final margin was expected to take days to settle.

Hakeem Jeffries, the House Democratic leader, is now positioned to replace Mike Johnson as Speaker when the new Congress convenes in January. Democrats have signalled that a House majority would give them subpoena power to investigate the administration.

They have also pledged to block Trump's spending priorities. In the Senate, Republicans entered the night with a 53-47 majority and faced a map that favoured them, according to the Cook Political Report.

The outcome continued a long pattern of the president's party losing House seats in midterm elections. Trump's approval ratings had remained underwater through the autumn, according to Gallup, with voters citing prices and tariffs as leading concerns. Republican strategists had hoped redrawn congressional maps in Texas and other states would offset those headwinds.

Governments abroad watched the result closely for signs of change in US policy on Ukraine, trade and NATO. Foreign policy remains largely in the president's hands, but a Democratic House would gain leverage over funding for military aid and over tariff legislation. Analysts at the Brookings Institution in Washington have said divided government typically brings legislative gridlock rather than abrupt shifts in foreign policy.