The U.S. midterms were held on the 3rd, local time, and according to Newspim the Democrats won back both the Senate and the House. They cleared the 218-seat majority in the House and took at least seven Republican Senate seats, though counting in Alaska and Mississippi was still under way and final numbers may shift. The same report says Trump argued he was not on the ballot and the loss was not personal, while acknowledging the Iran war had an effect.

The next Democratic move is expected to be congressional scrutiny of the administration and the president’s circle. According to the Washington Post, relayed by the Kyunghyang Shinmun, Democrats are weighing Apple, Meta and Musk-linked companies as early targets; Rep. Robert Garcia, expected to chair the House Oversight Committee, posted on X telling them to ‘get a lawyer.’ Sen. Ed Markey said printing all the subpoenas that could be issued would require ‘growing a new forest.’

Who could be investigated, and over what

The Musk-related issues run along three lines. SBS Biz, citing Politico on October 21, reported that his conduct as head of the Department of Government Efficiency, SpaceX’s contracts with NASA and Tesla’s clean-energy subsidies were named as targets. Global Economic and others reported the advance notice of a probe into SpaceX government contracts, and the Kyunghyang Shinmun added that an allegation that Musk-linked firms used the Grok AI chatbot in planning the operation to seize Venezuela’s Maduro is also at issue. Before the vote, on the 2nd, Trump said on a New York Post podcast that he would ‘protect’ Musk if Democrats investigated him.

Among large companies, Apple’s removal of an app that tracked ICE agents and Meta’s demand that local governments sign non-disclosure agreements when it built data centers were cited. Sen. Richard Blumenthal asked donors to the White House ballroom, including Google, Nvidia, Amazon and Microsoft, to hand over documents voluntarily; according to the Kyunghyang Shinmun, Apple and Nvidia each pledged $25 million and total private donations reached $333 million. The White House called the inquiries politically motivated. No specific plan to investigate adviser Stephen Miller turned up in the reports reviewed for this article.

Actual subpoenas, however, cannot be issued until the new Congress convenes in January. Newspim noted the result will be divided government, with Democrats running Congress and Republicans the White House, and that Trump’s veto makes it hard for Democrats to push policy alone. Senate Republican leader John Thune said his party will push back on the Democratic agenda.

Iran: between strikes and talks

In a phone interview of about 20 minutes with CNN on the 8th, local time, Trump repeated five times that the chance of resuming attacks on Iran is ‘very low.’ According to Asia Economy, he said it depends on whether Iran signs a ‘very strong agreement,’ while adding that he would strike if necessary and that three aircraft carriers are nearby. His claims that Iran’s air defenses are destroyed and that 38 bridges could be demolished within an hour have not been independently verified.

Iran tells it differently. Asia Economy reports Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said talks stalled because mediators stopped acting after the U.S. election result. Iran says it proposed through Qatar a ‘two-day plan’ to reopen the Strait of Hormuz if Washington lifts its port blockade, suspends oil sanctions and returns frozen assets, while the U.S. wants specific nuclear commitments from the outset, so a gap remains. According to the Seoul Economic Daily, U.S. forces also carried out a limited strike on Qeshm Island near Hormuz on the 6th.

Polling relayed by Newsis shows Trump’s calculation. In an AP-SSRS survey, 63% of voters called the military action against Iran a wrong decision, and in a Fox News poll, 66% of the 59% of voters who were very worried about gasoline and diesel prices backed the Democratic House candidate. On the 4th, the day after the vote, Brent crude fell below $95 a barrel, a two-month low.

What reaches Korea

At its regular briefing on the 5th, the Foreign Ministry said it will manage major Korea-U.S. economic and trade issues regardless of the change in Congress. According to Yonhap and Korea Center reports, it will consult Congress and state governments as well as the administration on U.S. investment, and widen outreach to leadership, key committees, freshmen and Korean-American lawmakers. Nuclear talks on enrichment and reprocessing are seen as limited in exposure because they are administration-to-administration matters, though nuclear-powered submarines must reckon with Democratic nonproliferation instincts. Security consultations have made no progress since a first working-level meeting in June following the November 2025 joint fact sheet, and some worry that working staff may not speed up implementation if Trump’s influence wanes.

Hormuz and energy are the variables for the Korean economy. Reports say the government is pursuing a wider mission area and extra forces for the Cheonghae Unit; Prof. Lee Shin-wha of Korea University said Democrats value multilateral cooperation over unilateralism, and Prof. Seo Jeong-geon of Kyung Hee University said it could ease further pressure from the Trump administration. Strains with Iran could grow, however, and how oil prices, the exchange rate and investment talks interact remains unclear. The government’s position on tariff issues could not be confirmed in this reporting.

A third view is needed. Iran blames the delay on U.S. election politics and the blockade, while Israel is more hawkish, with Prime Minister Netanyahu reported to have urged resuming strikes in an October 31 call. The White House and Republicans call the congressional probes a political attack. Whichever account is right, American power-sharing and Middle East negotiations are moving at the same time, so the clearest lesson of this election for Seoul is that it must rely on both the administration and Congress, not on one man’s inclinations.