Answer in brief
As of 4 November 2026 the midterm vote changes who is projected to control Congress, not any law on Russia. The new members take their seats on 3 January 2027, sanctions rest on statutes and orders in force, and the president keeps the veto. Aid and sanctions votes are possible later, with outcomes nobody knows yet.
What the new Congress changes for Russia, and what it does not
The plain answer on Congress and Russia is that the vote changes who is projected to run two chambers, and it has not yet changed a single law about Russia. CBS News projected on the night of 3 November that Democrats would control both the House and the Senate. As of 4 November the counting was not finished. Under the 20th Amendment, the terms of Senators and Representatives end at noon on the 3d day of January, so the Congress that sits today keeps its powers until then.
Every statement below is tied to a named source and sorted into one of three kinds: what is law, what is a bill, and what someone has said. The Moscow Times wrote on 4 November that the effect of the result on Russia and Ukraine policy is unclear.
The count as of 4 November: projections, not final results
According to the CBS News live page, updated at 11:54 a.m. Eastern on 4 November, Democrats had secured at least 54 Senate seats with two races outstanding. Those are Alaska and Mississippi, which CBS rates as toss-ups. For the House, CBS estimates that Democrats will win between 251 and 268 seats once all votes are counted, and its page reported about 75 races undetermined at 4:19 a.m. Seat totals are projections by named outlets and can move.
Leaders of both parties spoke after the vote. Chuck Schumer said, according to CBS, that Democrats had won the Senate. President Trump said on Truth Social, as Northeastern reports, that Republicans would have won in a landslide if he had been on the ballot. Northeastern also quotes political scientist Martha Johnson, who cautioned that the results are not clearly an endorsement of the Democratic policy agenda. Analysts read the same numbers in different ways, and this story does not choose between them.
Which powers belong to Congress and which to the president
The Constitution, in the transcription published by the National Archives, gives Congress the power to lay and collect taxes and duties. It also says that no money may be drawn from the Treasury except in consequence of appropriations made by law. For the subject here, that means sanctions written as statutes, tariffs and any aid to another country need a law that both chambers pass.
A bill that both chambers pass goes to the president, who can sign it or veto it. Under Article I, Section 7, Congress can override a veto only if two thirds of each chamber agree. Asked about a possible Democratic Congress, President Trump said, in a remark carried by CBS News: "I have the ultimate power — it's called 'veto.'"
Treaties follow a separate rule. Article II says the president makes treaties with the advice and consent of the Senate, with two thirds of the Senators present concurring. Actions that the president takes under a statute, such as a waiver, a licence or a negotiation, are limited by that statute and by any later law.
The Graham Act of September and the 16 October waiver
Baker McKenzie describes H.R. 5334, the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026. The Senate passed it 86–11 on 7 August, the House 262–159 on 16 September, and President Trump signed it on Friday, 18 September. As that firm summarises it, the Act raises duties on Russian-origin goods by up to 500 percent of their value and allows tariff increases of up to 100 percent on the five largest importers of Russian crude oil and natural gas. It also lets the president waive required sanctions by certifying to Congress that the waiver is in the national interest.
On Friday, 16 October, the president signed an executive order using that waiver power. The National News Desk reported that it covers tariffs on Russian goods and on major buyers of Russian oil and gas, and sanctions aimed at foreign banks, which were due to take effect two days later. The White House said enforcing them could hinder efforts to negotiate peace between Russia and Ukraine. Freshfields says the order has no fixed end date. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters, as Reuters and The Moscow Times report, that the president wanted to take a 60-day period, while Trump himself said his decision was not yet final.
Members of Congress reacted on both sides. The Associated Press quotes Representative Gregory Meeks, a New York Democrat, as saying "Congress is not helpless". It quotes Senator Darline Graham, a South Carolina Republican, as saying: "Personally, I would choose to keep the pressure on Russia." The National News Desk quotes Representative Thomas Massie, a Kentucky Republican, who supported the waiver on the ground that the president used authority Congress had granted. Neither Baker McKenzie nor Freshfields describes a congressional review step for waivers; both describe one, a 30-day joint-resolution window, only for terminating sanctions.
CAATSA of 2017 and its 30-day congressional review
A second, older law gives Congress a defined role. The Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act, Public Law 115-44, was approved on 2 August 2017, as the text on govinfo.gov shows. Its Section 222 codifies sanctions under Executive Orders 13660, 13661, 13662, 13685, 13694 and 13757 as they stood the day before enactment. Section 216 requires the president to send a report to the appropriate committees and congressional leadership before ending or waiving those sanctions, or before a licensing action that significantly alters policy toward Russia.
After the report, a review period of 30 calendar days applies, extended to 60 days if the report is submitted between 10 July and 7 September. A joint resolution of disapproval may be introduced during that period. If such a resolution is enacted, the president may not take the action, and a veto brings back the two-thirds rule. The sources opened for this story do not say which review, if any, applies to the October order, so that question is left open here.
Ukraine aid depends on appropriations and the defence bill
The Kyiv Independent reported on 12 June that the Senate Armed Services Committee had voted the day before to include $750 million for the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative in the 2027 National Defense Authorization Act, a bill totalling $1.15 trillion. The same report says the House approved separate legislation in early June providing military assistance to Ukraine, and that it faced difficulty in a Senate that was unlikely to pass it without the president's approval. The sources opened here do not report a final version of the defence bill.
Euromaidan Press, summarising a Reuters analysis on 25 October, wrote that the president has largely halted direct American aid to Ukraine and that current supplies come from earlier packages. It added that if Democrats control both chambers they could bring new aid to a vote, and that such aid could draw the two-thirds majorities needed to override a veto. That is a forecast made before the election, attributed to a news analysis, not an event. Whether a vote is scheduled, and whether it passes, is unknown as of 4 November.
What Moscow said, and where the nuclear treaty stands
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov spoke on Wednesday, 4 November. As The Moscow Times reports, he said: "President Trump will continue his term, and we sincerely count on him continuing his peacemaking efforts." Asked whether a Democratic Congress would hinder those efforts, he called the outcome America's internal matter and said another round of trilateral negotiations would take place very soon.
Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov also commented. CBS News reports that he described the Democratic leadership's approach to relations with Russia as extremely negative and said Russia's foreign policy would not change because of the results; Al Jazeera translates the adjective as sharply negative. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, per CBS, hoped the new Congress would increase support for Ukraine and pressure on Russia.
On arms control, The Moscow Times reported on 4 February that the New START treaty was set to expire at midnight on 5 February 2026 with no further extension possible. The same report says any future limits would need a new agreement or voluntary restraint by each side. A new treaty would go to the Senate, where Article II requires two thirds of Senators present, and none is mentioned in the sources opened.
From 3 January 2027 to the mid-December review: the dates ahead
The first fixed date is noon on 3 January 2027, when the new Congress meets under the 20th Amendment. Until then the sitting Congress holds the powers described above, and the Associated Press wrote on 17 October that the House and Senate were on recess until after Election Day. Rubio's 60 days, counted from the order of 16 October, would end around mid-December; that is arithmetic, not an announced date, and Trump did not confirm the period.
Several things are unknown as of 4 November. Final seat totals depend on the Alaska and Mississippi Senate races and on the remaining House races. It is unknown whether the waiver will be lifted, extended or left as it is, whether Congress will vote on Ukraine aid, and what the final defence bill will contain. That is the honest limit of any account of Congress and Russia today. Anyone who needs to know how sanctions rules apply to their own situation should ask a qualified lawyer.
Practical checklist
- Check the final Senate result for Alaska and Mississippi once the counting ends.
- Look for the final House seat count from named networks once all races are called.
- Note 3 January 2027 at noon, when the new Congress meets.
- Watch whether the president extends, ends or lets the October waiver run after the 60-day review.
- Read bill text on congress.gov before relying on a summary of any Russia or Ukraine bill.
Questions and answers
Can the new Congress restore the sanctions that were waived in October?
Not by itself. The sources opened describe no review step for waivers under the Graham Act. Congress could pass a new law, but the president can veto it and an override needs two thirds of each chamber.
When does the newly elected Congress take office?
At noon on 3 January 2027, under the 20th Amendment, which ends the old terms at that moment. Until then the sitting Congress, elected in earlier years, keeps its powers and votes.
Does the election change aid to Ukraine right away?
No. Aid needs appropriations made by law, and the 2027 defence bill had no final version in the sources read. Analysts quoted before the vote described possible votes, not scheduled ones.
What did the Kremlin say about the US midterm elections?
Spokesman Dmitry Peskov called the outcome America's internal matter and said Moscow counts on Trump continuing his peacemaking efforts. Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said Russian policy would not change because of the results.
Is there still a US-Russia treaty limiting nuclear weapons?
New START was set to expire on 5 February 2026, with no further extension possible under its terms, according to The Moscow Times. Any new limits would need a new agreement or voluntary restraint, and a treaty needs two thirds of the Senate.