We can bid good riddance to one of the Sunset Limited's biggest adversaries in congress, Pete Sessions, of Texas. He has tried to push through legislation in Congress that would decimate Amtrak's long-distance services, even within his own district and state. It called for elimination each year, under a review, of the one Amtrak train with the lowest ridership numbers and cost recovery ratio, making the Sunset Limited the likely first target.

In California, Orange County congressman district Dana Rohrbacher also lost his bid for re-election, and had been another adversary to rail service in California which included the Sunset Limited close to his district. Upstate, Jeff Denham, who has opposed California's high-speed rail project, but also stirred up controversy over passengers bringing pets on amtrak trains, has also lost his re-election bid. Political power in former Arizona Senator John Mc Cain's seat has shifted to the other side of the aisle as a female Democrat was elected to replace him, and she can take the oath of office immediately since she was elected to replace a representative who is deceased.