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Personal FinanceAnalysisPast Article

What a Democratic Congress Can, and Cannot, Change About Your Money

The new majorities take their seats January 3, and the president still holds the veto. Health premiums, student loans, mortgages, taxes and crypto rules, one at a time.

By Ruth Hale, Personal Finance Columnist

New York4 min read

A hand holding an I VOTED sticker with an American flag design
An "I Voted" sticker with an American flag design.Photo by Ashley Diane Worsham on Unsplash

Democrats won the House and the Senate on Tuesday. That sounds like a change to your bills. Mostly it is not, at least not yet.

Two rules set the pace. The new Congress is sworn in on January 3, 2027, so the current Republican majorities run Washington until then. And President Donald Trump can veto any bill. Overriding a veto takes two-thirds of each chamber, which Democrats do not have. Most Senate bills also need 60 votes to get past a filibuster, J.P. Morgan Asset Management noted.

So the real question is what can pass with the president's signature, or get attached to a bill he has to sign.

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