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Trump’s sliding approval ratings weigh on Republicans’ prospects in US midterms

The GOP could lose control of the House and Senate as voters sour on his presidency

    • More than half of Americans believe US President Donald Trump is using his office for personal gain, according to a poll.
    • More than half of Americans believe US President Donald Trump is using his office for personal gain, according to a poll. PHOTO: REUTERS
    Published Tue, Jun 9, 2026 · 06:00 PM

    HISTORY is rarely kind to sitting presidents at midterm time, and US President Donald Trump’s second term is shaping up to test that rule with unusual force.

    A confluence of political headwinds, eroding approval ratings, policy controversies and alienated voter coalitions is casting a long shadow over Republican prospects in November 2026.

    Trump’s tumbling approval ratings have raised the chances that Democrats could recapture the House, and perhaps the Senate too. For Republicans holding thin margins in Congress, that is not an abstract concern. It is an existential one.