Democrats win both US congressional chambers as Trump says he will accept midterm results

Democrats win both chambers

Democrats are projected to take control of both chambers of Congress in the US midterm elections, according to projections from American broadcasters that dpa cites. Voters on Tuesday, 3 November, filled all 435 seats in the House of Representatives and 35 of the 100 Senate seats. The forecasts describe a landslide that would give Democrats majorities in both chambers, taking them from Republicans.

With those majorities, Democrats could significantly narrow the president's room for maneuver. According to dpa, they could block new funding or set up investigative committees targeting controversial cabinet members. The figures are early projections rather than certified final counts, and the articles do not give final seat totals.

Trump accepts the results

In an interview with the New York Times, reported overnight, Trump said he was fully prepared to accept the results and would work with Democrats. The paper reported that he was watching television during the call and sounded downcast. He also said he could cooperate with Democrats on many issues, including immigration.

In a phone interview with Fox News, Trump said he had many friends among Democrats and that they wanted to talk. He added that he held the veto, which he described as untouchable. He also said Democrats had done a good job and had fought hard.

Explanation and blame

Trump acknowledged that the war with Iran played a role in the Republican losses, while arguing that voters also understood the importance of his Iran policy. He did not treat the defeat as a personal one, saying he was not on the ballot. Midterm elections are widely seen as a referendum on a president's record, and Trump had campaigned intensively in the weeks before the vote, travelling from state to state.

Before the vote, Trump had promised to act as a "Mister Veto" to stop bills he opposed. At the start of election day, in a speech in Washington, he called the Democratic Party's slate of candidates the most extreme and dangerous in American history. On Truth Social, he blamed Fox News for the losses, saying the channel kept the Democratic opposition in the spotlight.

Sequence of events

Voting took place on Tuesday, 3 November, and projections followed overnight. Trump's remarks to the New York Times came overnight, and his Truth Social account then went silent for more than three and a half hours before he posted again. Reports on his reactions, including the Fox News interview, were published on 4 November.

The seat counts still reflect projections, and final results for the remaining races were not yet confirmed in the articles.