On the foreign-policy front he retains broad executive authority as commander-in-chief, yet remains constrained by Congress’s power of the purse on matters requiring new funding—such as expanded actions involving Iran—while major new tariff legislation is now largely dead in the water. Democrats, for their part, face their own limits, unable to reverse prior cuts without the supermajority needed to override a veto, leaves them left only to raise issues for the 2028 election. Ukraine funding continues to hinge more on Trump’s own willingness than on congressional resistance, and from the Russian perspective the midterms delivered no clear net advantage or disadvantage to Putin, leaving Trump a classic lame-duck president whose remaining influence centers on the legacy he seeks in ending the war in Ukraine and managing the standoff with Iran. To discuss this and more, host Ashim Kumar was joined by Professor of political science at Columbia University, Robert Y. Shapiro
