Democrats won control of both chambers of Congress in Tuesday's US midterm elections, and President Donald Trump said they "did a good job" while blaming Republican candidates for the losses.
The results end Republican control of both chambers two years into Trump's second term, the first time since 2006, under George W. Bush, that a Republican president's party lost both chambers in a midterm. Democrats flipped at least seven Senate seats, six of them in states Trump carried in 2024.
Trump told Fox News: "We had tremendous rallies. We had about 30 of them." "I don't like to consider it a defeat," he said.
I don't like to consider it a defeatPresident Donald Trump
Democrats captured Republican-held Senate seats in Texas, North Carolina, South Carolina, Ohio, Iowa, Kansas and Maine, according to CBS News projections. In Maine, Republican Susan Collins lost to Democrat Troy Jackson. Democrats also held their Senate seat in Georgia, where Jon Ossoff defeated Republican Mike Collins.
In Texas, Democrat Gina Hinojosa defeated incumbent Governor Greg Abbott, delivering the party its first gubernatorial victory in the state in more than three decades.
Abbott conceded on election night, saying that "after looking at all the details of every county in the entire state, I made the decision to go ahead and call Gina Hinojosa." In her victory speech, Hinojosa said: "The voters have delivered a mandate for change, and it is change they will get."
Trump criticized Abbott on Truth Social, describing him as a Republican in name only. "If Greg Abbott, the Governor of Texas, hadn't become a RINO in the last six months of his Political Life ... he wouldn't have lost," Trump wrote.
Other prominent Republican Senate candidates who lost included Ken Paxton, defeated by James Talarico in Texas; Michael Whatley, defeated by Roy Cooper in North Carolina; and Darline Graham, defeated by Annie Andrews in South Carolina.
Trump and Vice President JD Vance campaigned in Ohio, where Democrat Sherrod Brown defeated Republican Jon Husted.
Speaking to Fox News, Trump said he was "a little bit surprised" by the results, having expected Republicans to "do better."
He also wrote on Truth Social: "I wasn't on the Ballot and if I was, we would have won IN A LANDSLIDE!"
Trump told Fox News, "I think a part of it was Iran," but told anchor Bret Baier: "I don't think it's the war, Bret, I think it's the gasoline price." People "agree with what I'm doing on Iran," he said.
According to the AP Voter Poll, about two-thirds of voters said Trump's policies had worsened economic conditions in the US, while about three in 10 said they had improved. About two-thirds said tariffs had hurt the national economy, and about six in 10 said they were very concerned about food and grocery costs.
From January, Democrats will chair congressional committees, giving them subpoena power for oversight investigations, and a Democratic Senate will vote on Trump's nominees. "This is a change election and we understand as House Democrats that we need to deliver dramatic change," House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries said.
House Speaker Mike Johnson said on election night that Republicans "would have to defy more than a century of midterm history" to keep the House, adding: "It looks like history will be kept tonight."
Democrats have identified Trump family business dealings, alleged corporate corruption and the administration's handling of the Jeffrey Epstein investigation among potential investigative priorities. Representative Robert Garcia, the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee and its expected chairman, said in June that a Democratic House would deepen the Epstein investigation and pursue "Trump family corruption," The Hill reported. On election night he posted on X: "LAWYER UP."
Trump told Fox News: "They'll send over things that are insane and I'll veto them." He also said: "After a couple of months of vetoes, they'll call ... And we'll work together."
Asked on Fox News whether he accepted the results, he replied: "Yeah, sure, I'll accept. Why wouldn't I?"
Overriding a veto requires a two-thirds vote in both chambers. About 75 House races and the Senate contests in Alaska and Mississippi were still uncalled at CBS News's latest update; the new Congress convenes in January 2027.