Election 2026: What a New Congress Means for the Music Products Industry

Democrats will control both chambers in January 2027. Here is what NAMM members should watch on music education, trade and tariffs, and the year-end budget deadline.

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Updated Nov. 4, 2026 at 4:30 pm PT. Results are unofficial, and some races remain uncalled.

Voters delivered a decisive shift in power Tuesday. As of Wednesday morning, Democrats had won control of both the House, 228-139, and the Senate, 54-44, with a number of races still undecided in both chambers, including Senate contests in Alaska and Mississippi. The Associated Press called the Senate for Democrats late Tuesday and the House early Wednesday. The new majorities take over in January. Because President Donald Trump remains in office and neither party holds a veto-proof majority, most legislation will still need his signature.

Leadership: Continuity for Democrats, shake-ups for Republicans

Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., is expected to become House speaker, and Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., Senate majority leader.House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., told staff Wednesday he will not run for minority leader, setting up a likely race between Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., and Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio. House Republicans are scheduled to hold leadership elections Nov. 10.Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., is expected to seek the Republican leader post again, according to reports, though his post-election statement focused on his conference’s record rather than his own plans.

Education: Oversight takes center stage

Senate

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., is expected to chair the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, which he led from 2023 to 2025 and where he now serves as ranking member. The committee’s current chair, Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., lost his primary in May and will leave the Senate at the end of his term. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, has expressed interest in the committee’s top Republican seat, though she could choose to lead Republicans on the Appropriations Committee instead. Sens. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., and Susan Collins, R-Maine, who were also in the mix, lost their races. Sanders’ Pay Teachers Act would set a $60,000 minimum teacher salary and triple Title I-A funding.

House

Rep. Bobby Scott, D-Va., the committee’s top Democrat since 2015, is seeking the chair, with challenges from Rep. Jahana Hayes, D-Conn., a former National Teacher of the Year, and Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, D-Ore. Bonamici is a longtime arts education champion who has introduced the Arts Education for All Act in multiple Congresses. Democrats have historically restored the name “Education and Labor” when they take the majority.

What to expect

Lawmakers are likely to hold oversight hearings on the interagency agreements moving Education Department programs to other agencies. On Wednesday, Scott wrote to the heads of 10 departments and agencies, including the Education Department, demanding they preserve federal records and confirm they have done so by Nov. 18. He cited criminal penalties under the Federal Records Act. Democrats may also try to use spending bills to block funds for transferring Education Department programs and staff, a move that would be harder for the president to veto without risking a shutdown. Scott also wants to probe implementation of the Every Student Succeeds Act at a time when the administration has granted states waivers from some of the law’s fiscal requirements. Democrats have also signaled interest in college affordability, including doubling the maximum Pell Grant and repealing the 2025 federal student loan caps, and in early childhood education. Scott and Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., reintroduced the Child Care for Working Families Act last year. It would cap families’ childcare costs and fund universal pre-K for 3- and 4-year-olds. Many Democrats also support repealing the new federal tax credit scholarship program created in last year’s reconciliation law.

Appropriations: The Dec. 11 deadline

The top order of business when Congress returns is finishing all 12 fiscal 2027 spending bills before the current continuing resolution expires Dec. 11. The House Appropriations Committee approved its bill funding the Labor, Health and Human Services and Education departments in June on a 34-28 vote, but the bill has not reached the House floor. It would cut Education Department funding by about 10%. The Senate Appropriations Committee has not passed any bills. Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., and Murray, the top Democrats on the House and Senate Appropriations committees, are in line to become chairs next year.

The lame-duck negotiations will set fiscal 2027 funding for programs that support school music, including Every Student Succeeds Act Titles I, II and IV-A, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Trade and tariffs: More oversight, limited immediate relief

Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., is expected to chair the Senate Finance Committee and has named asserting authority over trade policy as a priority. Rep. Richard Neal, D-Mass., is expected to return as chair of the House Ways and Means Committee. In July, Wyden introduced a bill requiring congressional approval for tariffs imposed under Sections 232, 201 and 301.

Members should expect hearings rather than quick rollbacks. After the Supreme Court struck down tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act in February, the administration shifted to Section 232 and 301 authorities that Congress has already delegated, and any repeal would face a veto. Some analysts, including Goldman Sachs economists, expect new tariff increases after the election.

NAMM continues to oppose the Commerce Department’s proposal to add brass-wind instruments and their parts to the Section 232 metals tariffs and filed formal comments against it. New trade committee leadership creates fresh opportunities to put the real costs to music businesses, schools and students on the record.

State highlights: Education funding on the ballot

California: Proposition 3, which would make permanent higher income tax rates on top earners dedicated to education funding, was leading with about 59% of the vote, with roughly half of the expected vote counted.

Colorado: Voters approved Proposition NN, directing refunds under the state’s Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights to K-12 schools.

North Carolina: Voters approved constitutional amendments capping the state income tax at 3.5% and limiting local property tax increases, which educators warn could pressure school budgets.

Wisconsin: Voters approved 45 of 79 school district referendums, totaling just over $1.3 billion.

Local levies: Results were mixed. In preliminary Colorado results, a Denver measure funding raises and career and technical education was likely passing, while two Jefferson County measures were narrowly failing.

What NAMM members can do

  • Introduce yourself early. Reach out to newly elected members of Congress and their transition teams. First impressions shape priorities.
  • Share your tariff story. Concrete examples of cost increases, delayed orders and effects on school programs are the most persuasive evidence for new committee chairs.
  • Weigh in before Dec. 11. Urge your members of Congress to fully fund Title I, Title IV-A, special education and the National Endowment for the Arts in final fiscal 2027 bills.
  • Register for the Music Education Advocacy Summit by Nov. 13 at The 2027 NAMM Show for the early bird rate.
  • Join us in Washington. Plan to attend NAMM’s 2027 D.C. Fly-In, May 9-13, to meet the new Congress in person.

NAMM will continue to track leadership races, committee assignments and the year-end funding fight. 

Questions? Contact us at publicaffairs@namm.org.

Sources

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