What is the current state of US politics?

Based on current reporting, here's a snapshot of where US politics stands as of mid-September 2026:

Midterm elections dominate the landscape
With the November 3 midterms about seven weeks away, control of both chambers of Congress is genuinely up for grabs. As of April 2026 Republicans held a 217–212 margin in the House, with one independent and five seats vacant, and history suggests Republicans could lose enough seats to lose control of the House. A September 2026 analysis by the Cook Political Report shows Democrats leading in 206 races and Republicans leading in 208 — essentially a toss-up. In the Senate, with seven weeks until Election Day, control is up for grabs as Democrats go on offense in red territory and Republicans look to make headway in a small number of blue-held seats, with Democrats believing economic and political headwinds against the president's party put a majority within reach.

A brutal redistricting war
This cycle has seen an unusually aggressive mid-decade redistricting battle. California and Texas were two of seven states that changed their congressional maps (along with Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Utah, and Virginia), while four other states — Maryland, South Carolina, Florida, and Washington — introduced legislation to redraw their maps. Not all attempts succeeded: Virginia voters approved a House map that could give Democrats an additional four seats, but in May the Virginia Supreme Court ruled that map unconstitutional and blocked its use. Meanwhile Florida's legislature approved a new GOP-drawn map that could add as many as four Republican seats, though it faces legal challenges.

Trump's approval ratings are historically weak
Polling aggregators show the president in a difficult position heading into the midterms. Throughout 2025 to 2026, Trump's approval rating has steadily declined to an average of 37 to 39%, with a September 12, 2026 average of 37.4% approve to 59.1% disapprove. Nate Silver's tracker similarly noted Trump's net approval rating recently ticked up slightly from an all-time low of -20.6, though a net approval of -19.5 is still far from popular, and notably this far into his second term, Trump's numbers are worse than his own first term (-13.0) and worse than Biden's were at the same point (-11.3).

A turbulent year of shutdowns and budget fights
Governing has been rocky. Two shutdowns occurred in 2026, both stemming from congressional disputes over federal immigration enforcement reforms following the killing of Alex Pretti by Customs and Border Protection agents — a four-day shutdown from January 31 to February 3, and a longer 76-day shutdown from February 14 to April 30 limited to the Department of Homeland Security. That followed the record 2025 shutdown. To avoid a repeat before the midterms, Senate leaders struck a bipartisan agreement in early August to keep the government funded past the midterms and avoid a shutdown in October, with the continuing resolution funding the government at existing levels until December 11.

Administration controversies and institutional friction
The Trump administration continues to draw scrutiny over its use of executive and law-enforcement power. Under public pressure from the president, the Justice Department opened investigations into perceived opponents and ultimately filed indictments against former FBI Director James Comey, New York Attorney General Letitia James, and former National Security Advisor John Bolton. Separately, the administration attempted to install Trump's personal and political allies as US attorneys in multiple districts, using procedural maneuvers to sidestep Senate confirmation, though federal courts repeatedly deemed the appointments invalid. There's also been friction with the press — Trump recently announced he is banning CNN, MS NOW, and Politico from the White House.

State-level races also in flux
Beyond Congress, Iowa features a competitive gubernatorial race where Democratic nominee Rob Sand appears to have an edge, raising the possibility Iowa could elect a Democratic governor for the first time in 20 years, which could help Democrats down the ballot. Democrats are also investing heavily in state legislative races, with substantially more candidates recruited than in previous cycles, including contesting every seat in Texas and breaking decades-old recruitment highs in states like Georgia, Indiana, and North Carolina.

Bottom line: The country is in the thick of a high-stakes midterm cycle with a genuinely competitive House and Senate map, an unusually aggressive redistricting fight reshaping district lines in multiple states, a president with historically low approval numbers even for his own past standards, and continued tension between the administration and both the courts and the press.