Sorry to spoil the midterms for anyone who has TiVoed them and will be watching later, but the 112th U.S. Congress will consist of a House controlled by the Republicans and a Senate controlled by the Democrats.
This got me wondering: When was the last time under a Democratic president that the House has belonged to the Republicans and the Senate to the Democrats? One (long) trip to Wikipedia later, I found the answer.
Strictly speaking, it has never happened.
That’s right, there has never been a Democratic-majority Senate and a Republican-majority House in session while a Democrat has been in the White House. From 1859-1861, however, there was a Democratic-majority Senate and a Republican-plurality House under Democrat James Buchanan, but that is the closest we’ve ever come.
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