The Democrats won Congress. Now they need to win back the trust of Americans. The Democrats have done what they have failed to do for years: they have captured both houses of Congress, flipped seats in the Senate in states like Texas, Kansas, and Ohio, and put Donald Trump's legislative agenda on life support. This is, by any measure, a resounding victory. But the same voters who gave them that victory also provided a warning that should keep every Democratic strategist up at night. About seven in ten voters believe Congress has done too little to check the power of the presidency, according to preliminary data from a CNN poll. This is not a mandate for the Democrats. It's a requirement - and it comes with an expiration date. The discontent runs deeper than just Trump. Voters' views of Congress and the Supreme Court are both negative, and both political parties sit at the bottom in public esteem, with Republicans doing even worse than Democrats. This is not a country that fell in love with the Democratic Party. This is a country that has grown to dislike Washington as a whole and has decided, for now, that the party that is not in power is the lesser of two evils. Gallup data from the beginning of the year showed congressional approval at a rate of 14 percent, with 86 percent disapproving — a record disapproval rating. The Democrats did not create this hole. But they were accused of stealing from him. What makes their position even more tenuous is that the only issue on which they have gained is the issue that voters care about the most. Democrats now have a small but remarkable advantage in trust to handle the economy — about eight percentage points nationally, according to a Times/Sienna poll, a turnaround from just two years ago, when Trump led by six. In the battleground states, the cost-of-living advantage widens to nine points, even in places where Trump won by double digits. This is the kind of change that can redefine a political era.

The Democrats won Congress. Now they need to win back the trust of Americans. The Democrats have done what they have failed to do for years: they have captured both houses of Congress, flipped seats in the Senate in states like Texas, Kansas, and Ohio, and put Donald Trump's legislative agenda on life support. This is, by any measure, a resounding victory. But the same voters who gave them that victory also provided a warning that should keep every Democratic strategist up at night. About seven in ten voters believe Congress has done too little to check the power of the presidency, according to preliminary data from a CNN poll. This is not a mandate for the Democrats. It's a requirement - and it comes with an expiration date. The discontent runs deeper than just Trump. Voters' views of Congress and the Supreme Court are both negative, and both political parties sit at the bottom in public esteem, with Republicans doing even worse than Democrats. This is not a country that fell in love with the Democratic Party. This is a country that has grown to dislike Washington as a whole and has decided, for now, that the party that is not in power is the lesser of two evils. Gallup data from the beginning of the year showed congressional approval at a rate of 14 percent, with 86 percent disapproving — a record disapproval rating. The Democrats did not create this hole. But they were accused of stealing from him. What makes their position even more tenuous is that the only issue on which they have gained is the issue that voters care about the most. Democrats now have a small but remarkable advantage in trust to handle the economy — about eight percentage points nationally, according to a Times/Sienna poll, a turnaround from just two years ago, when Trump led by six. In the battleground states, the cost-of-living advantage widens to nine points, even in places where Trump won by double digits. This is the kind of change that can redefine a political era.