Your question spans a fast-moving landscape — I'll gather the latest on the state of U.S. politics for you.
As of September 19, 2026, the United States is in a period of unified Republican control but facing a highly competitive and polarized midterm election season:
1. Control of Government - 119th Congress (2025-2027)
The federal government is under unified party control:
•In the 119th Congress (2025–2027), Republicans hold the presidency, 220 of the 435 House seats, and 53 of the 100 Senate seats.
•Other counts put the Senate at 53 Republicans, 45 Democrats, and 2 Independents who caucus with Democrats.
•In the House, most sources report around 219 Republicans to roughly 212–213 Democrats with several vacancies reported between three and four seats.
•Another summary notes only four seats currently separate the Republican majority from the Democratic minority in the 435 member House. In the Senate, Republicans hold 53 seats compared with the 47 that caucus with Democrats.
President Donald Trump is serving his second term. The period has been described as President Trump continuing to try to centralize power on both domestic and foreign policy.
Congress is set for a busy and raucous 2026, despite the looming distraction of the November midterms. The GOP is eager to advance President Trump’s agenda while they still control the House and Senate, which won’t last if Democrats wrestle back control of one or both chambers after the midterm elections.
2. The 2026 Midterms - Central Focus of Current Politics
The defining event of current US politics is the November 3, 2026 midterm elections.
•All 435 House seats are being contested in the 2026 midterms, along with a portion of the Senate. The outcome will determine the balance of power in Congress during the final two years of President Donald Trump’s current term.
•All 435 members of the House of Representatives and 35 Senators are up for election on 3 November.
•All 435 House seats and 33–35 Senate seats are up in 2026, meaning the midterms literally determine the congressional balance of power that will constrain or enable presidential priorities and investigations.
Historical patterns weigh heavily:
•Since the advent of the current two-party system (41 midterm elections), we've averaged the President's party losing 3 U.S. Senate seats and 28 seats in the House of Representatives in midterm election cycles.
•The “midterm law”—the reliable pattern in which the president's party loses seats in Congress in midterm elections—combined with Trump's unpopularity and rising costs, makes Republican loss of the House likely despite redistricting gains.
•Senate control is harder to call, though Republicans seem more likely than not to retain it.
A major subplot is redistricting:
•It is the latest major turn in the nationwide redistricting race, from California to Florida, that Trump started to help maintain Republican control of the House of Representatives.
•After the Supreme Court's conservative majority ruled in favor of Texas lawmakers last week, Republicans head into the 2026 election year with an edge in the redistricting fight kicked off by President Trump.
•More recently, the U.S. Supreme Court again rejected a push to use Missouri congressional maps backed by President Trump on Thursday, a loss for Republicans trying to maintain control of the House in the fast-approaching midterm elections.
Early voting is beginning: The 2026 midterm general election season is upon us, published September 8, 2026.
3. Polling and Public Opinion
President Trump’s approval has declined significantly since inauguration:
•His job approval, which stood above 50% when he took office for his second term, has fallen to around 40% while public disapproval has risen by 13 points—from 44% to 57%.
•At the end of August, approval polling averages showed President Donald Trump (R) at 41% approval. Fifty-six percent of voters disapproved of his performance. The lowest average approval rating of his second term was 39%, last seen on Aug. 25, 2026. The highest average approval rating of his second term was 54%, last seen on Jan. 22, 2025.
•A Quinnipiac University National Poll on 9/10/26 found 33 percent of voters approve of the way Donald Trump is handling his job as president, while 59 percent disapprove.
•An Emerson College Polling survey of likely voters in August 2026 found 40% approve of the job President Trump is doing, while 56% disapprove.
•Trump’s approval among Republicans is now 73% – down slightly since September.
Generic congressional ballot favors Democrats, but margin is debated:
•A new Emerson College Polling survey finds on the 2026 midterm election generic ballot, the Democratic candidate holds a 10-point lead over the Republican candidate, 50% to 40%.
•In August 2026, Democrats Lead Congressional Ballot by Eight Points.
•In July 2026, Democrats with 11-Point Generic Ballot Advantage, leading 53% to 42%.
•Pew Research Center found Democrats hold a 6 percentage point edge over Republicans among registered voters on the generic ballot for Congress (43% vs. 37%).
•Five recent national surveys find that a narrow majority (50-55%) or a plurality of American adults and of young adults would vote for the Democratic candidate if the midterm election for the House of Representatives were held today.
•Polling expert Harry Enten noted the Democratic generic congressional ballot lead is only about 5 points — significantly weaker than the 8–11 point advantages Democrats held in previous midterm cycles under Republican presidents.
•Silver Bulletin's aggregate had the generic ballot at Democrats +6.7 on August 11, with Trump's net approval at –20.4 against a second-term low of –20.6 on July 30.
Congressional approval is low for both parties: Republican approval has fallen from 45% in March 2025 to 36% in September 2026, while Democratic approval has increased from 29% to 36%.
Confidence in elections has fallen:
•Less than half of Americans expect the November 2026 midterm elections to be free and fair, according to a UC San Diego survey from September 1-9 among 5,016 adults, only 49% of voters said they expect free and fair elections. Meanwhile, 23% do not expect fair elections, and 28% are unsure.
•60% of respondents said they are confident votes will be counted accurately nationwide in the 2026 midterms. Just after the 2024 presidential election, that figure stood at 77%, a 17-point drop.
4. Key Issues and Polarization
Economic concerns dominate:
•In terms of broad policy areas, economic concerns dominate. About 7 in 10 Americans mention at least one economic issue for the government to prioritize in 2026.
•When Americans are asked which issues are the most important to their vote in 2026, inflation and the cost of living (26%) ranks first, followed by democracy and elections (15%), jobs and the economy (14%), and deportations/immigration enforcement (12%).
•69% of Americans agree that the Trump administration is focusing too much on deportations and not enough on fixing the economy, inflation, and the rising cost of living.
Intraparty dynamics:
•Congressional primaries in both parties are serving as early indicators of whether Trump retains his grip on Republicans and whether the Democratic Party is shifting left ahead of the 2028 presidential race.
•Trump’s endorsement remains a powerful force in Republican primaries, but upcoming races will reveal whether his influence is beginning to erode.
•Very few incumbents lose their primaries: In 2026, 13 lost (as of early September); in 2024, only four lost; and in 2022, 14 lost.
Other top problems cited by the public include money in politics (74% say it is a top national problem) and health care affordability, while illegal immigration is cited by 38%.
5. Judicial and Institutional Context
The Supreme Court under its conservative majority remains a major political actor:
•The U.S. Supreme Court declined Monday to let the U.S. Postal Service enforce a rule targeting mail-in ballots, dealing a setback to President Donald Trump's effort to restrict voting by mail ahead of November's midterm elections.
•The Supreme Court, with the noted dissents of Justices Alito and Thomas, has rejected the government’s attempt to put its USPS mail ballot rule in place for the 2026 midterm election season.
•On September 14, the Supreme Court left the restrictions blocked for the 2026 midterms.
•The Supreme Court's decision to let Trump fire Rebecca Slaughter from her position as a commissioner of the Federal Trade Commission for purely political reasons is an immediate win for Trump and an even bigger long-term victory for the executive branch.
Concerns about democratic institutions and polarization are prominent, with democracy and elections ranking as the second-most important vote issue at 15%, and analysts warning that if Democrats take control of the chamber, they could stymie the president's legislative agenda and launch investigations of his administration.
In summary, as of mid-September 2026, the U.S. is in a highly polarized, unified-government period entering a pivotal midterm cycle. Republicans hold narrow control of Congress and the White House and are pushing redistricting and executive-power initiatives, while Democrats are favored in generic ballot polling amid low presidential approval and economic discontent, making House control the most likely to change in November.