Events

The US Mid-Terms: Storm in a Tea Cup or Major Political Shift?

Speaker:
Dr Amit Gupta, Senior Visiting Fellow, CPR, Senior Advisor, Forum of Federations, Canada; former Associate Professor, US Air Force Air War College, Alabama

Wednesday, 28 October 2026, 3:30 PM IST onwards.

This event will be held in a hybrid mode at the CPR Conference Room and online via Zoom. Please register below to attend.

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About the talk
On November 3, American voters head to the polls against a backdrop of rising prices, low approval ratings for President Trump, and widespread frustration over the war with Iran. As Republicans and Democrats jockey for control of Congress, the House appears poised to flip to the Democrats, while the battle for the Senate remains much closer.

The talk will examine election data to assess the new congressional majority’s legislative power. It will focus on whether a Democratic victory could enable major legislative shifts or merely restrict the party to heavy oversight and budget standoffs. With Trump facing potential lame-duck status during his final two years, the session will explore how much leverage Congress can exert over a president who relies heavily on executive orders and vetoes.

Presidents traditionally have greater latitude on foreign policy, so what do the mid-term results mean for US strategy on Iran, Ukraine, India, China, and Europe? Can war powers resolutions, arms sales, and sanctions bills give Congress leverage, or will executive policy carry on as planned?

The talk will also look at the polling data, the constitutional mechanisms, and the wider implications for US foreign relations.

About the speaker

Amit Gupta is a Senior Visiting Fellow with the Centre for Policy Research. He was on the faculty of the Department of International Security in the U.S. Air Force Air War College, Maxwell AFB and is now a Senior Advisor to the Forum of Federations, Ottawa, Canada. Dr Gupta is author, co-author and editor of the following books, Building an Arsenal: The Evolution of Regional Power Force Structures;  India’s Nuclear Security The Indian Ocean and the Western Pacific: Maritime Challenges; Opportunities, and Policies, Global Security Watch—India, Strategic Stability in Asia, and Air Forces: Next Generation. Dr Gupta has worked on diasporas, race, and domestic and foreign policy.

In the realm of popular culture, he has written in academic journals and magazines on Doctor Who, The Defenders, Star Trek, international cricket, and the globalisation of sports. Dr Gupta was educated at the University of Delhi and the Australian National University, and has a PhD from the University of Illinois. In his spare time, he coached the Air War College Soccer Team for the Jim Thorpe Inter-Services Competition Army War College, Carlisle, Pennsylvania.