Congress Returns
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., heads to an intelligence briefing in a secure room in the basement of the Capitol with the director of national intelligence and other congressional leaders, as Congress returns to work following the midterm elections, at the Capitol in Washington, Monday, Nov. 9, 2026.
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Senators from both parties have returned to Washington with questions about the future of their leadership after last week’s election decisively gave Democrats a significant new majority. Republicans who are losing around a quarter of their current conference to election losses and retirements are debating whether to immediately reelect South Dakota Sen. John Thune as leader in votes scheduled for Tuesday. Across the aisle, Democrats who could hold as many as 56 seats next year are having private discussions about whether New York Sen. Chuck Schumer is still the right person to lead them, even as he carried the party to historic wins.
