The 2026 midterm elections are set to take place this November.

A Republican lawmaker has suggested that Donald Trump’s presidency could face an early setback depending on the outcome.

The striking remarks came on Wednesday (25 Feb) during a live television interview between House Speaker Mike Johnson and Newsmax.

During the conversation, they discussed the significance of the November 2026 midterms—an election cycle many analysts consider pivotal for Trump. The results are expected to act as a referendum on his second term in the White House, following his first election in 2016, and will likely determine how much legislative influence he retains.

Johnson, 54, a senior Republican figure, indicated that if the GOP were to lose control of the House, it could severely undermine Trump and stall his contentious policy agenda.

“I’m very bullish about the midterms because we have such an extraordinary record to run on,” he began, going on to reference the 1 hour and 48 minute State of the Union address Trump, 79, gave yesterday.

For those who missed it, the President’s speech focused heavily on a self-declared ‘economic turnaround’, along with his hardline stance on immigration and foreign policy, amid slumping Republican approval ratings.

Despite the latter reality, Johnson gushed in his recent interview: “The President highlighted a lot of these big wins to the American people tonight.

“It wasn’t a laugh line. He said the people are so tired of winning. You know, there is so much, but there’s more yet to do, as he said.”

Johnson continued: “He needs all four years, not just two, to fix the mess – and that’s what we need.”

It is understood that ‘the mess’ referenced by Johnson alludes to the state of American politics left by Trump’s Democratic predecessor, Joe Biden.

“If we lost the midterms – heaven forbid, if we lost the majority in the House, it would be the end of the Trump presidency in real effect,” he added.

“So, we’ve got to keep this going. I think we’re excited to put our candidates on the field to explain all this to the people.”

Johnson continued: “We’ve got to keep going, we’ve got to keep delivering, and we will.

“The President laid out a pretty aggressive agenda tonight, as you heard, and we’ve got to do it with the smallest margin imaginable. At the moment, I have a one-vote margin – major thin.

“So, we’ve got to have effective unanimity among the party to deliver our priorities.”

The Speaker lastly insisted: “But I tell you what, this is a unified party. We have done it with small margins already, and we’ll continue to do it.

“We’re going to continue working on the things the President highlighted tonight.”

What is a midterm election?

As per the US Vote Foundation, a midterm election is an election held in the middle of the current four-year presidential term, with this year’s taking place on 3 November.

During this election, the composition of Congress is decided, with all 435 seats in the US House of Representatives up for grabs, and the partisan composition of Congress influences what the President can and can’t do during their term.

In the meantime, states might also add other roles to the ballots, including governor, state representatives, judicial, and local offices.

How do the midterms affect Trump?

The US Vote Foundation goes on to say that the midterm election is especially important for the sitting President, as their job approval is a major factor in the outcomes for the US House and Senate.

“The higher his job approval, the fewer the losses that his party experiences.” they add.

Yet, the website adds that the results of the midterms do not reflect the possible outcome of the next presidential election, which will take place in 2028.