US President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump hold hands as they host a Halloween event at the White House in Washington, DC, US, October 29, 2026.
Once again, we’re seeing American impatience at work.
While early voting is happening, Election Day is on Tuesday, yet the political talk is already focused on congressional leadership contests, the would-be Democratic agenda, Donald Trump’s anticipated “super lame duck” status and all that will follow.
Can we please get through this election first before having to devour competitive speculative articles and punditry about whether Hakeem Jeffries can hold together a strategy-diverse caucus post-election or whether Chuck Schumer will return as a Democratic Senate majority leader when many individual candidates have staked out positions for change?
After all, at the same time, we keep hearing about the dangers of an election denialist Trump government that is willing to undertake a variety of legal, financial, social and political pressures to cast doubt on the outcome of elections. Take a breath: The election count itself could take three weeks in some areas.
Clearly, the administration and its agencies have been adept at filing lawsuits, however legally frivolous, to halt mail ballots, to limit voters, close precincts, and lobby hard about the presence of non-citizen voters that no one else seems to be able to find in sufficient numbers to change an election outcome. There are warnings about the National Guard gearing up for unknown reasons, shared fears that federal agents will seize ballots, and a slew of challenges if votes are close in various states about declaring winners.
Yet even a cursory glance at headlines shows a bevy of concerns about which personalities will emerge more “powerful” when the anticipated Blue Wave hits this week and who will be left behind. Does it really matter who the House minority leader will be if Republicans lose their majority status?
Anticipating Troubles
What may matter more in the anticipation of Election Day are the number of administration policies that have been held back or delayed for execution once we pass Tuesday.
Those Trump policies that will increase pressure on housing and health, and on renewed warfare and upside-down foreign dealings that improve relations with Russia and China over protection of democracies in Europe and Asia is where our attention ought to be.
We know some of what to expect from a cornered Donald Trump.
At the top of this list is the possibility or even probability of renewed warfare in Iran. The Pentagon has been ordered to move a new aircraft carrier group to the Middle East, diplomatic personnel and families have been warned to evacuate in anticipation of retaliatory attacks, and Gulf nations are hard at negotiations with Iran to consider any options to forestall renewed air attacks from the United States and Israel.
No matter how much criticism of an unsuccessful, continuing war situation in the region has filled campaign ads and rallies, Trump is insisting he can do as he wants with our military, that any attempt by Congress to be involved in approving or defunding war efforts is beyond any of his reasoning. The fact is, the military is getting itself ready for an order to renew conflict that may or may not come – with absolutely no assurance that bombing will result in Iran walking away from nuclear weapons aspirations or the full re-opening of the Strait of Hormuz or abandonment of proxy armies that are attacking Israel, Saudi Arabia and Gulf nations working with the U.S.
The lame duck session of Congress will be filled with the election vitriol over the war and whether to continue to finance it,
The delayed domestic agenda reportedly also includes new broadsides against medical abortion and other aspects of intrastate travel for abortion, a doubling down on Homeland Security anti-immigrant campaigns, and more cuts for health insurance coverage for those not covered by their jobs.
Trump’s insistence on making the election about himself – “Pretend I’m on the ballot” – while ignoring the reports on the ground from across the nation, from urban and rural areas, about the effects of high prices from his tariff and war policies while evidence of official corruption seems to multiply by the day is where our attention ought to be. Instead, we’re busily speculating about presidential candidates for 2028 or what happens to Rep. Jim Jordan’s dream to replace Mike Johnson as head of House Republicans.
If we get a decisive result from elections this week and we can get to January actually seating the winners through vote challenges and certification fights, the new Congress will sort itself quickly. If Democrats win, it will become evident quickly how much investigating and how much policy work on prices will be targeted.
It would be more effective for us to focus on what is right before us rather than speculate about personality clashes ahead.
Terry H. Schwadron retired as a senior editor at The New York Times, Deputy Managing Editor at The Los Angeles Times and leadership jobs at The Providence (RI) Journal-Bulletin. He was part of a Pulitzer Gold Medal team in Los Angeles, and his team part of several Pulitzers in New York.
