Control of House still up for grabs, and other post-election news – National & International News – WED 6Nov2025

Control of House still up for grabs after election.

Abortion rights measures pass in Missouri and Arizona, overturning restrictive bans.

What happens to Trump’s criminal cases?

Control of House still up for grabs after election 

Former president Donald Trump is now once again president-elect Trump after winning what can only be described as a landslide victory in both the electoral college and the popular vote. Kamala Harris skipped an election night event at Howard University last night as it become clear that she would not be making a victory speech that night. She did return to Howard today to offer a very gracious concession speech. Harris emphasized the importance of the peaceful transfer of power and urged her supporters “do not despair”.

Republicans have also gained control of the Senate, having flipped three seats so far in Ohio, Montana, and West Virginia. Four races in Maine, Pennsylvania, Arizona, and Nevada have not yet been called. Some of them may have to go to a runoff. Regardless of the outcome of those races, the Republicans will not have a filibuster-proof majority.

Quite a few seats in House races across the country remain up for grabs. Sources differ as to which races have been called. Right now, ABC has called 208 seats for the Republicans and 192 seats for the Democrats, with 218 seats needed for control. 

It is possible that we will end up with a divided government once again. Even if Republicans do retain control of the House, Democrats in the Senate could make use of the filibuster to obstruct some of Trump’s legislative priorities, if they so choose. In general, Democrats have not been nearly as aggressive in exercising the filibuster when in the minority as the Republicans have been.

Abortion rights measures pass in Missouri and Arizona, overturning restrictive bans

Last night, 10 states had measures on their ballots that would either protect or expand access to abortion. These were Missouri, Florida, South Dakota, Montana, New York, Nevada, Maryland, Colorado, Arizona and Nebraska. In seven out of 10 states, voters supported expanding or protecting abortion access. 

The most notable wins were in Arizona and Missouri, which currently have some of the most restrictive abortion laws in the country. Trump won Missouri handily by 18%. He is currently leading in Arizona, but votes are still being counted.

In South Dakota, a measure failed to pass with a majority, garnering only 40% of the vote. Nebraska voters selected a measure that enshrines the state’s current 12-week limit in the state constitution. They rejected a measure that would have expanded the rights to the point of fetal viability. In Florida, a measure that would have done away with the current 6-week limit on abortion won 57% of the vote, but state law required 60% for passage. 

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What happens to Trump’s criminal cases?

President-elect Trump still has a number of criminal cases against him, although they have been in a holding pattern for the last several months. There are two federal criminal cases led by special counsel Jack Smith, the Jan 6 case, and the classified documents case. There are also two state-level cases, one in New York (in which Trump has already been convicted) and one in Georgia.

Federal: Jan 6 & Classified documents

It has long been acknowledged that the two  federal cases would likely go away if Trump won re-election. Firstly, criminal proceedings against Trump cannot go forward while he is in office.  Secondly, Trump has said openly that he will appoint a loyalist Attorney General who will dismiss the charges. Sources say that the Department of Justice is currently in the process of deciding how to wind those cases down. 

With respect to the classified documents case, the DOJ has an appeal pending at the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals. The DOJ will want to continue with this appeal because the federal judge in the case Aileen Cannon dismissed it on the grounds that special counsel Jack Smith was improperly appointed. This will have to be challenged, otherwise it will cause serious problems for high-profile DOJ cases, present, and future.

New York hush-money case

President-elect Trump was already convicted in May of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records. This was in connection with hush-money payments made to porn star Stormy Daniels by one of Trump’s attorneys on his behalf ahead of the 2016 election. 

The judge in the case delayed sentencing from September to the 26th of November. While Trump could potentially face prison time for these convictions, he may avoid a custodial sentence because he is an older, first time-offender. Even if he does receive a prison sentence, his lawyers would no doubt appeal and argue that he should remain free while the case is appealed. This appeal process could take years. 

If Trump survives to the end of his term on January 20, 2028, (by which time he would be 82), he could still be facing a prison sentence if the judge in this case orders one.

Georgia election interference case

Trump along with over a dozen codependents are facing charges of racketeering and election interference in a sprawling case in Georgia. This case has been on hold for several months while an appeals court decides if prosecutor Fani Willis will be allowed to stay on the case. Willis was caught earlier this year in a sex scandal with a special prosecutor in her office. 

The charges against Trump in Georgia could come with decades of prison time. However, it cannot proceed while he is in office. It is possible, though not terribly likely, that this case could also still be hanging over Trump when he eventually leaves office.

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