The Latest: Trump defends Iran war after voters give Democrats control of Congress

Nov. 4, 2026, 8:06 PM ET

The midterm election blowout has set up a new era in Washington, with Democrats eager to meet voter demands for change while Republicans watched their congressional majorities evaporate in a revolt against President Donald Trump’s policies. Democrats triumphed in several surprise upsets, marking a decisive rejection of unified GOP control of the House and Senate.

Trump acknowledged the Iran war affected the midterms, suggesting voters were frustrated by surging gas prices that have been a byproduct of the more than 8-month-old conflict. “The Iran thing we had to do, and we continue to do it,” Trump told reporters. He struck a conciliatory tone earlier, suggesting he could work with the Democrats, only to later threaten to use his veto power to strike down their agenda.

The fallout for Republicans is only beginning. Vice President JD Vance, a 2028 presidential contender, blamed the war in Iran for Republicans’ midterm wipeout. And Mike Johnson of Louisiana will not seek reelection as House speaker, according to two people familiar with the matter.

Democrats, meanwhile, are ready to launch a 100-day agenda to lower the costs of gas, groceries and healthcare and conduct vast oversight and investigations into Trump and his administration, with impeachment an option.

Here's the latest:

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis says gerrymandered districts prevented further losses in House seats

The Republican told Fox News on Wednesday that while his state was “not immune” to the blue wave, they did not suffer as badly as Texas because of the trust built up with voters over the years.

“That was a potential extinction event over there,” DeSantis said of Texas.

The governor addressed criticism over four Florida congressional districts that were redrawn to favor Republicans. Three of them have been won by Democrats.

DeSantis asserted that they started with 20 Republican seats and the redrawn districts helped them hold on to that many.

If the old map had been in effect, they would have lost two of those seats, DeSantis said. The AP has only called 16 of those races.

He called it the “worst midterm for our party since Watergate and maybe since FDR.”

Pennsylvania Gov. Shapiro says there’s antisemitism among both Democrats and Republicans

Antisemitism is a problem nationally and among members of both political parties, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said on CNN.

He was asked Wednesday what he tells Jewish voters who are concerned that some Democrats elected Tuesday are hostile to Israel.

Though no names were mentioned, Abdul El-Sayed, who won his Michigan Senate race, and Michigan Rep. Rashida Tlaib, who was reelected, have been sharply critical of U.S. military assistance to Israel and the war in Gaza.

“This is not reserved to the Democratic Party,” Shapiro said. “I think you have seen the vice president of the United States peddle antisemitism. You’ve got people on the extremes” in both political parties.

“To me, there is no place for antisemitism in our country, period, just like I think there’s no place for Islamophobia or racism or hatred or bigotry in any form,” Shapiro said.

Cruz says too many Republicans ‘didn’t understand’ or ‘care’ about voters’ pain ahead of midterms

In a long autopsy of his party’s defeat, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz laid out in a post on X why the GOP saw “Watergate-level repudiation” from Americans on Tuesday night.

High gas prices, increases in homes and cars being repossessed, and a record number of people making plasma donations each week were among some of the signs that Americans were struggling, he writes.

“That is very real pain from real Americans, and too many Republican politicians seem like they didn’t understand or they didn’t care,” Cruz added.

Golden State Warriors coach jokes about missing out on Trump’s $5,000 check

Steve Kerr, coach of the Golden State Warriors, joked that he had been expecting to receive the $5,000 check Trump had promised to every American adult if Republicans retained control of the House and Senate in the midterm elections.

But with a sweeping Democratic victory across both chambers of Congress, the four-time NBA championship-winning coach told reporters Wednesday, tongue-in-cheek, that he would be sorry to not receive the money.

“I’m just disappointed because I was looking forward to that $5,000 check we were all going to get,” Kerr said.

Kerr has been outspoken about issues like gun control laws.

Nevada Democrat declares victory in historically red district. AP has not called race

Teresa Benitez-Thompson has declared victory in Nevada’s 2nd Congressional District over Republican David Flippo, whose campaign was marred by disputes over his military service record. The AP hasn’t called the race.

The 48-year-old former state lawmaker campaigned as a moderate Democrat with a long history in northern Nevada. She contrasted herself with Flippo, who moved to the district to run for the open seat when Republican incumbent Rep. Mark Amodei announced his retirement.

Benitez-Thompson told reporters Wednesday that a “perfect storm” of factors happened to allow her candidacy to succeed. Republicans didn’t deliver on their promise to lower costs, she said, adding that she would focus on affordability.

“We have to get in there and make a real difference for working families,” she said.

White House defends Trump’s agenda, pledges to ‘defy the odds’ after midterm losses

In a news release Wednesday, the White House laid out what it believes is the “promises” made and kept to the American people as Trump and his allies scramble to respond to Republicans’ stunning electoral defeat.

Securing the border, launching massive deportation efforts and instituting tax cuts are listed as among the 127 policy actions taken so far in Trump’s second term.

“Every time the Radical Left, the Fake News, and the professional panic class have written President Trump’s obituary, they have been wrong. They will be wrong again,” the release says.

It comes hours after Trump acknowledged the Iran war’s effect on his party’s inability to maintain control of Congress, suggesting voters were frustrated by surging gas prices that have been a byproduct of the more than 8-month-old conflict.

Sen. Chuck Grassley won’t resign to avoid the possibility of a Democrat naming his successor

The 93-year-old Iowa senator isn’t resigning before a Democrat becomes governor in January, a spokesperson says.

Grassley supported Republican Zach Lahn for governor, but Democrat Rob Sand won Tuesday’s election.

During the campaign, Grassley said he didn’t want Sand to have the opportunity to fill his seat if he were unable to finish his term.

“I don’t plan on dying in office,” Grassley said at an event in September. “But if I did, I don’t want a Democratic governor choosing my successor.”

Grassley was trying to motivate his base to vote and intends to serve out his full term, according to spokesperson Clare Slattery.

Grassley will be joined in the Senate by Democrat Josh Turek, who was elected on Tuesday.

Democrat concedes in redrawn Tennessee district. AP hasn’t called the race

State Rep. Justin J. Pearson has conceded in the Memphis-area congressional district that was redrawn to favor Republicans.

Republican state Sen. Brent Taylor declared victory Tuesday night. The AP has not called the race.

The district was one of several Southern districts represented by Black Democrats that were redrawn in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court decision weakening the Voting Rights Act.

Pearson said Wednesday that he came close to victory in the gerrymandered district and noted that “Tennessee politics will never be the same.”

“I accept the results of this election for Congress. But, I will not concede to rigged maps, attacks on democracy in Tennessee, or to billionaire control of our political system,” he said.

Montana Democrat says his generation feels ‘lied to’

Wildland firefighter Sam Forstag has declared victory in a Republican-held House seat in Montana over a Trump-backed conservative radio talk show host who conceded. The AP has not called the race.

Forstag, 32, pitched himself to voters as a candidate of modest means who’s struggled financially like many in his generation while government officials insist the economy is fine.

“What we’ve seen in the last years is a little similar to what we saw the last Democratic administration do, that left a whole lot of folks in my generation feeling alienated and lied to,” Forstag told the AP.

Forstag was born the same year Montana voters last sent a Democrat to the House — 1994. He described his campaign as a “ragtag team of 20- and 30-year-olds” sending a message to the country about working-class people fighting for themselves.

Former Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke is retiring from the House seat.

Haley Stevens doesn’t regret endorsement flip-flop in Michigan Senate race

The congresswoman who lost the Democratic primary to Abdul El-Sayed is defending her decision to switch her to endorsement to Republican Mike Rogers in the leadup to Tuesday’s election.

Stevens posted Wednesday on X that she didn’t regret the change but that she originally endorsed El-Sayed. She pointed to her strong support for U.S. ally Israel.

El-Sayed, who won the Senate seat, has been a vocal critic of Israel. He’s faced criticism for saying that “hurt people hurt people” after a synagogue attack and for appearing with controversial streamer Hasan Piker on the campaign trail.

Stevens wrote she had hoped to help El-Sayed moderate but says that “instead, he got worse.”

El-Sayed told the AP that Michigan voters had rejected “a hateful, spiteful campaign.” Republicans had sought to demonize El-Sayed, who was born in the U.S. after his parents immigrated from Egypt.

Pennsylvania Democrats set goals after series of state wins

They began listing their initial pursuits after flipping control of the state Senate and securing control of state government for the first time since 1992.

Gov. Josh Shapiro, in a news conference Wednesday, singled out sending more aid to mass transit agencies, raising the state minimum wage, protecting abortion rights in the state constitution and building more housing.

State House Majority Leader Matt Bradford preached pragmatism, noting that people are hurting and Democrats must not fail or “lose our way.”

State Rep. Jordan Harris, who leads the House Appropriations Committee, said he was excited to once again pass bills that had died in the Republican-controlled Senate.

“Oh, guess what? We’re gonna dust them bad boys off, because we coming for you!” Jordan told reporters on the Capitol steps.

Mitt Romney takes swipe at ‘bad politics’ following GOP losses

The former Republican presidential nominee noted that “bad policy, bad character make bad politics” following his party’s stunning losses in the midterm elections.

Romney was one of Trump’s most outspoken conservative critics before retiring from the Senate last year. In a Wednesday social media post, he offered a list of grievances against the administration, including the “impulsive Iran war, blanket pardons, apparent corruption, weaponized justice, ICE brutality, mountainous deficits, hiding Epstein, abandoning allies and coddling enemies.”

He added that he was “hoping for a course correction, for the country.”

Romney’s two-decade political career included being elected governor of Massachusetts and U.S. senator for Utah. He lost the 2012 presidential election to incumbent Democrat Barack Obama.

Hakeem Jeffries makes pitch to colleagues as he seeks to become next House speaker

The House Democratic leader is telling colleagues that his goal is to empower them to act decisively in the next Congress on affordability, accountability and American values.

The goals were spelled out in a letter he sent Wednesday asking for their votes to serve as the next speaker.

“America is back!” Jeffries opened with, celebrating the party’s decisive victory in gaining the House majority.

Jeffries cited 10 specific areas where he said the Democratic caucus has delivered during his tenure. Those include exposing the harms that he said were included in Trump’s tax and spending cut bill, particularly the cuts to Medicaid. He also cited the efforts to fight for transparency on the Jeffrey Epstein files and opposition to the “reckless and costly war of choice in Iran.”

“The next chapter in our country’s 250-year journey begins today,” Jeffries said.

Black caucus members hold on with slim margins after redistricting push

Many Congressional Black Caucus members survived a mid-decade redistricting push meant to dilute their districts. Caucus leaders and legal scholars say that reflects an unusual turnout surge and warn the maps behind the push remain in place.

Following a Supreme Court redistricting ruling this year, caucus Chair Yvette Clarke warned that up to 19 seats were at risk from GOP-led efforts to redraw districts. The exposure runs through the 2028 cycle, meaning not all of those seats were on the Tuesday ballot.

Still, many caucus members held on, including sweeps from Texas’ Christian Menefee and Missouri’s Emanuel Cleaver and squeakers from Alabama’s Shomari Figures and North Carolina’s Don Davis.

Law experts cautioned against interpreting the midterms as a permanent fix to the altered electoral maps.

“This kind of turnout can’t be a once-in-an-election-cycle kind of phenomenon,” said Melissa Murray, an NYU law professor.

Jaime Harrison says Annie Andrews’ Senate win puts South Carolina Democrats ‘on the radar’

Harrison came up short in his own 2020 Senate challenge to Lindsey Graham. But after Andrews’ win over the late senator’s sister, Darline Graham, Harrison says Democrats in his home state feel invigorated.

South Carolina had not sent a Democrat to the U.S. Senate in nearly 30 years. Andrews’ win, coupled with the state’s leadoff position in Democrats’ 2028 presidential primaries, provides an fresh opportunity, the former Democratic National Committee chairman said.

“We’re going to start recruiting candidates now,” Harrison said, including a 2028 challenger to Republican Sen. Tim Scott. “All of that stuff has to start now. We can’t wait.”

US stocks surge and the Dow soars more than 1,500 points as oil prices tumble

U.S. stocks soared after Trump’s party lost its sole control of Washington in the midterm elections.

Stocks of hospital owners and retailers focused on lower-income Americans led the widespread rally. Investors, meanwhile, see risks ahead for Trump’s social-media company, the AI industry and businesses owned by Elon Musk. Oil prices tumbled, which helped Treasury yields to ease in the bond market.

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Kansas City area helped Democrats’ first US Senate victory in 94 years

Adam Hamilton, the first Democrat to win a Senate race in Kansas since 1932, defeated Republican Sen. Roger Marshall largely because of support in the Kansas City area, where he's the founding pastor of the 25,000-member Church of the Resurrection, the nation’s largest United Methodist congregation.

Hamilton received more than 60% of the vote in Johnson and Wyandotte counties. In Kansas' other 103 counties, Marshall prevailed by a comfortable margin.

Republicans concede in tight races for Ohio attorney general, treasurer

Two prominent Ohio Republicans who ran for state attorney general and treasurer have conceded to their Democratic opponents.

State Auditor Keith Faber conceded the attorney general race to John Kulewicz, while former state Rep. Jay Edwards, who was endorsed by his close friend Vice President JD Vance, conceded the treasurer's race to Seth Walsh. The AP considers both tight contests too early to call.

Republican Secretary of State Frank LaRose has claimed victory in the state auditor’s race, which AP also has not yet called.

House GOP leaders describe ‘staggering’ election defeat ‘far worse’ than expected

Rep. Steve Scalise, in a letter seeking his colleagues' support for minority leader, wrote, “This is no doubt a challenging time.”

He said the election was “far worse than any of us expected” and that Republicans need to be honest about what happened.

Rep. Jim Jordan, in his own letter, called it a “staggering day” and said Republicans “must learn” from the results.

Both are seeking to succeed Speaker Mike Johnson as the House GOP leader in a potentially bruising fight.

Democrats flip attorney general seats blue

Some 30 attorneys general offices were on the ballot, and money poured in from technology and tobacco companies, among others that could face legal scrutiny.

Republican-led Texas, Iowa and Georgia chose Democrats. Minnesota and New York remained blue despite Republican targeting. Other attorney general races have yet to be called.

Democratic officials have filed dozens of lawsuits against the administration, winning favorable rulings in most. Republicans have sued over the years as well.

Harris says she’ll keep advocating on economics and civil rights whether or not she runs again

Former Vice President Kamala Harris said she's elated to see Democrats wins that are so "geographically, ideologically, generationally” broad. And she told the AP in an interview that she wants to play a part in the 2028 campaigns whether or not she runs.

“I believe I have a responsibility to contribute to the direction of a party, in particular around lifting up voices and issues that I have an experience with,” she said. “It’s how I’ve conducted myself throughout my career, and whether I’m in office or not, that’s the role I feel compelled to play.”

Democrats take control of the Texas state House

It follows historic wins for governor and U.S. Senate in Tuesday’s midterm elections. The Texas House has been in Republican control for a quarter-century.

Democrats made sweeping gains in state governments, shifting the balance of power across historically Republican-leaning states. Voters gave them full control — both statehouse chambers and governors’ offices — in at least five states where Democrats previously shared power.

How Mississippi’s majority-Black counties voted for Senate

Strong support in majority-Black counties for Scott Colom has helped make Mississippi’s U.S. Senate race unexpectedly competitive for Democrats. As of noon Wednesday, with 96% of the estimated vote counted, Colom had received about 73% of the vote in those counties while running neck-and-neck with incumbent Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith statewide.

El-Sayed tells AP that Michigan voters rejected GOP’s ‘hateful, spiteful campaign’

In an interview with The Associated Press on Wednesday, Sen.-elect Abdul El-Sayed said voters did not engage in Republicans’ efforts to demonize him throughout the cycle for being Muslim and Egyptian.

“Michigan proved just how big we are — rejected a hateful, spiteful campaign that had nothing to say about the issues and only wanted to point to my name and my face,” El-Sayed said. “Michiganders rejected that. Every single county, every single one, pushed against that.”

El-Sayed said he was “running on adrenaline and caffeine” after defeating Republican Mike Rogers.

Palestinians in Gaza and Israelis in Jerusalem react to the US election results

Abdel Kareem Al-Najjar, a Khan Younis resident, told the AP he’s pleased the Democrats fared well.

“I am very happy for the Democrats’ win and happy for the Republicans’ loss. This is a victory for what is right. And as they say, you reap what you sow. Trump’s acts and his domestic and foreign policies, especially in the Middle East, are what drove him to this point. Trump and his party.”

Jerusalem resident Suzan Yammer expressed fear and pessimism about what it means for Israel.

“I think it’s pretty scary,” Yammer told the AP. “We seem to be losing at this moment a very stalwart, loyal friend, and to lose a friend that is foundational to the way we’ve organized life here in Israel is ... our job is to figure out what we can do in the face of it, and that’s what I’m hoping we can do.”

Michigan Democrat William Lawrence flips House seat

Lawrence defeated Republican incumbent Tom Barrett in Michigan's 7th Congressional District.

Lawrence, who previously described himself as a democratic socialist, defeated the freshman incumbent in the battleground district that includes Lansing.

Barrett, an Army veteran who voted against Trump’s ability to wage war against Iran without congressional approval, had flipped the seat from Democratic control in 2024 when Elissa Slotkin ran for Senate instead of seeking reelection to the House.

New York Democratic Rep. Thomas Suozzi wins reelection

Suozzi defeated Republican Michael LiPetri in New York’s 3rd Congressional District. Suozzi was aggressively targeted by Republicans but won in a Long Island district that Trump carried by 4 points in 2024.

A lawyer and accountant, Suozzi has served in Congress since 2016, with a two-year break when he ran unsuccessfully for governor in 2022. LiPetri is a lawyer and former state Assemblyman who prominently touted Trump’s endorsement.

NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani says ‘it’s a new dawn in America’

Mamdani said the wave of Democratic victories is a “true reflection of what the American people want, which is change they can feel in their wallets.”

“What last night showed us is that working people are the majority, whether we are speaking of Austin or Ann Arbor or Astoria. And it is time to put those same people first in our politics, and last night shows us that it’s possible to do so all across the country,” he said.

Asked if progressive Democrats should push for wider changes, the democratic socialist mayor said “foot on the gas.”

“This is the moment where we are seeing people across this country vote for a politics that will mean something,” he said. “We want politics to mean the deliverance of dignity into working people’s lives.”

And then there was just one Republican in Congress who supported impeaching Trump

Come January, Sen. Lisa Murkowski will be alone, now that Rep. David Valadao of California lost to Democrat Randy Villegas.

Valadao had been a GOP survivor, defying the odds to win a series of tough races, but couldn’t overcome Trump's overwhelming repudiation.

Ten House Republicans, including Valadao, voted to impeach Trump following the Capitol insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021. Seven GOP senators voted to convict him, and of the five who remain, all but Murkowski will be leaving Congress in January.

Trump says he has no regrets about final message to voters

Trump defended his Election eve speech at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. Asked Wednesday if he regrets focusing on problematic project in his final pitch as polls showed voters are primarily concerned about pocketbook issues, he instead went into detail about the pool's plumbing and paint color.

“I heard it was a very good speech, got great reviews,” he said while touring the White House ballroom's construction.

Trump says he’ll stay out of race to lead House Republicans

Two GOP lawmakers, Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan and current House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, have announced their intentions to run for Republican House minority leader. Trump has wielded significant influence in past House leadership contests, but said “we'll stay out of it” this time.

Trump said Speaker Johnson was “fantastic” and that he did not ask him to step down. “The people under him were fantastic, all good people,” Trump said.

Trump is not considering replacing Hegseth but talks him up for Tennessee Senate seat

Much of the post-midterms speculation about potential Cabinet shuffles has centered on Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, a key architect of Trump’s unpopular war with Iran who could be a top target of congressional Democrats.

Trump told reporters on Wednesday that he is not considering replacing Hegseth, saying “I think he’s doing a very good job.”

Hegseth has been talked about as a potential appointed senator in Tennessee, where GOP Sen. Marsha Blackburn won the governor’s race and could pick her interim successor.

“I actually think he’d be very popular if he did that,” Trump said.

Hegseth moved to Tennessee with his family in 2022, according to the Knoxville News Sentinel.

Trump, after Vance post blaming Iran war for election defeat, again defends it

The president was asked about the vice president’s comments Wednesday that the Iran war was to blame for deep GOP losses and said, “I think it’s largely true because it drove the gasoline up a little bit, short term.”

Trump, speaking to reporters as he was showing off the construction of the White House ballroom he ordered, defended the conflict.

“The Iran thing, we had to do and we continue to do it,” Trump said.

Embattled Republican Rep. Max Miller concedes Ohio seat, says he ‘fought earnestly’

Miller lost to Democrat Brian Poindexter, a union ironworker and councilman, after remaining in a race that both Ohio’s Republican U.S. senators, one his former father-in-law, Bernie Moreno, had urged him to exit. Moreno’s daughter, Emily, is among several women who had accused Miller of physical abuse. Miller denied it.

Trump had stuck by Miller, a top adviser in his first White House, up through Election Day with a final endorsement on X.

California Democrat Randy Villegas wins House election

He'll represent California’s 22nd Congressional District, defeating Republican incumbent David Valadao.

Villegas is a progressive who was endorsed by Sen. Bernie Sanders. He overcame concerns among some Democrats that he would be seen as too liberal for the district in California’s Central Valley. In the primary, national Democrats backed a rival with ties to the party establishment.

Navy vice admiral fired by Hegseth declares victory. AP hasn’t called her House race

Nancy Lacore is running as a Democrat to replace Republican U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace, who lost a bid for South Carolina governor.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth never gave a public reason why he fired Lacore, a three-star Navy vice admiral, along with about two dozen other high-ranking military leaders in August 2025. But it spurred Lacore to move to Charleston and run for office.

“That was my goal the whole time, right? When I, when I launched this campaign, I said I’m not done serving, and that’s really what I want to do,” Lacore told reporters Wednesday.

She declared victory over Republican Jenny Costa Honeycutt in the coastal 1st District. The Associated Press hasn’t called the race.