What is Midterm election
According to U.S. Constitution , the US presidential election is held every four years and the Congressional election is held every two years. Then there will inevitably be a congressional election during the presidential term, and this election is called the midterm election. The midterm elections were held on the first Tuesday of November of that year. The 2018 midterm elections will be November 6.
The significance of Congress
Capital Villa
According to the U.S. Constitution, the United States implements a political system of separation of powers, in which legislative power belongs to Congress; executive power belongs to the U.S. President; judicial power belongs to the U.S. Federal Court. Congress consists of directly elected Senate members and House members. Each member represents voters in his constituency, but as a whole, members of Congress represent voters of the entire country and pass legislation to regulate the behavior of the government and the people. However, the bill passed by Congress also needs to be signed by the president before it will take effect. As one of the pillars of the American political system of , Congress has equal importance as the US presidential election.
Contents of the midterm elections
1. Reelect all members of the House of Representatives
House of Representatives was elected according to the population ratio of each state. In 1911, at a rate of about 500,000 people were selected, the quota for the House of Representatives was 435 seats. It was adjusted to 437 in 1959, and then recovered to 435 in 1963, and has remained to this day. According to the U.S. Constitution, members of the House of Representatives must be at least 25 years old, have been a U.S. citizen for 7 years, and are residents of the elected state. Once elected, the House of Representatives can be renewed until the end of their term, die, or resign.
2. Re-elected 1/3 of the Senate
According to the provisions of the US Constitution, 2 senators will be elected in each state, and 100 50 states will be elected in total, with a term of 6 years, and 1/3 will be re-elected every two years. Senate candidates must be at least 30 years of age, have been a U.S. citizen for 9 years, and must be resident of the elected state. Once elected, the senator will serve as a term until his term is over, dies, or resigns.
3. Re-election of governors, etc.
Midterm elections will also be held for governors, legislative and executive elections held by states and counties, but compared with the elections of the Senate and House of Representatives, the overall impact on the situation is not great, so it has received less attention.
Senate Powers
The Senate is mainly responsible for overseeing and ratifying the treaties signed by the President, as well as ratifying the President's various personnel appointments and removals made by the Federal Government. The Constitution stipulates that the president must be advised and approved by the Senate when appointing personnel and signing a treaty. Government positions that require the Senate to exercise its consent include cabinet members, heads of federal administration, ambassadors to foreign countries, justices of the Supreme Court and judges of the Federal Court. The Constitution stipulates that the president can only ratify the treaty after two-thirds of Senate members recommend and approve it. However, not all international agreements are treaties, so some international agreements do not need to be approved by the Senate.
Power of the House of Representatives
Constitution authorizes the House of Representatives to impeach federal officials for "rebellion, embezzlement or other minor crimes." The House of Representatives can pass the impeachment case by a simple majority (1/2). If the government official determined by the judgment is automatically dismissed, the Senate may further prohibit the defendant from taking office in public office in the future. No other punishment is allowed during the impeachment process. However, it is possible for those who are impeached to face crime punishment in general courts. The Constitution stipulates that "all bills that will increase taxes should be discussed first by the House of Representatives." Therefore, in Congress, only the House of Representatives has the right to approve taxes and other related fiscal bills, and taxes are the financial source of the federal government. The House of Representatives has the power to decide on the presidential election when the Electoral College is deadlocked.
Election significance
From a national level, the U.S. Congress is mainly responsible for formulating laws and supervising the president's exercise of power. If the president's party can occupy multiple seats in Congress, it will make it easier for the White House to implement various policies; and if another party occupies the majority of the Congress, the president will face great constraints when exercising power.
Direct impact of the midterm elections in 2018
1. If the Democrats win, the Republican legislative agenda will be terminated immediately
If the Republicans lose control of the House or Senate in 2018, they will lose the ability to submit bills to the president, which basically means that the Republican legislative agenda will be terminated immediately. However, even if the Democrats win two Houses, they will not be able to formulate bills that will benefit themselves as long as the president serves and can exercise their veto.
2. If the Democrats win, more investigations into the Trump administration will follow
Winning control of the House or Senate will not only give Democrats the veto power over the new bill. They will also investigate the Trump administration more actively.
House and Senate committees can send subpoenas and force witnesses to appear in court. However, these powers are controlled by the majority. If Democrats regain subpoena rights, they will conduct a deeper investigation into Trump’s allegations of sexual assault, as well as various controversial policy options or potential scandals in the administration. As for whether these investigations may lead to impeachment of Trump, it is still uncertain. But the impeachment process begins in the House, so if that House is controlled by a Republican-hostile Democrat, it is more likely to start, and once impeachment is supported by two-thirds of the Senate vote, it can be removed from the presidency.
3. If the Democrats win, the president's right to nominate will be severely restricted
If the Democrats regain control of the parliament, they will get a veto on Trump's nominee.
Under the current rules, Trump can nominate anyone with a simple majority (1/2) pass - meaning he can still get his nominees without any Democratic support. But under the Democratic-controlled Senate, this will no longer be possible.
