Election ushers in new era in DC
Trump acknowledges impact of Iran war on midterm voters
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WASHINGTON -- The midterm election blowout delivered a new era in Washington, with Democrats in Congress eager to meet voter demands for change while Republicans watched their majorities evaporate after a revolt against President Donald Trump and his party in power.
Democrats ousted Republicans from coast to coast, with many surprising places in between, in a decisive rejection of unified GOP control for the promise of something different for the country. Their majorities will be padded by unusually wide margins in both the House and the Senate.
The staggering results are setting up a starkly divided government, with an emboldened Congress poised to reassert itself as a coequal branch when Democrats take over in the new year. They 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.
"We hear you," said House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York, who would make history as the first Black speaker of the House if his colleagues elect him to the job when the new Congress begins on Jan. 3, 2027.
Jeffries called the election a "stunning rebuke of MAGA extremism" and "a great victory for the American people."
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer acknowledged the political reality that voters may have been more willing to reject Trump's party than to embrace the Democrats.
"Many of the folks who voted for us yesterday are still skeptical, and that's OK," the New York senator said Wednesday at the Capitol.
He said the history-making scale of his party's wins -- picking up long-shot Senate seats in South Carolina, Texas and Kansas -- creates "the opportunity to prove ourselves worthy of their trust."
All told, the results present a fundamental reshaping of power in Washington, with new openings and challenges for governing. The tally was bewildering for the scope of Democratic gains and the depth of Republican losses, which indiscriminately wiped out GOP firebrands, moderates and veteran conservatives nationwide. The swelling majorities, with some races still too early to call, underlined a deep sense of voter anger and concern over the economy and the state of democracy.
Trump recognizes impact of Iran war
Trump struck a conciliatory tone, suggesting he could work with the Democrats, but he also warned of gridlock ahead as he threatened to use the power of the presidential veto to strike down their agenda.
"I don't want to be just sitting there for two years vetoing everything," he told Politico.
Later, he acknowledged the Iran war impacted the midterm elections, suggesting voters were frustrated by surging gas prices that have been a byproduct of the 8-month-old conflict.
"The Iran thing we had to do, and we continue to do it," Trump told reporters.
He said he was not considering replacing Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, despite voter dissatisfaction with the war and the threat of impeachment proceedings against the Pentagon chief. He said Hegseth was "doing a great job."
Vice President JD Vance, often eyed as Trump's likely successor at the White House, pointedly blamed the war in Iran for the Republicans' midterm wipeout. "The reason we lost is the war," Vance wrote.
Democrats vow investigations
House Democrats are planning to quickly launch efforts to reverse Trump's GOP cuts to the Affordable Care Act and Medicaid healthcare programs. They're also ready to dive into a robust oversight agenda of the administration and aspects of corporate America to, as Jeffries says, "hold the crooks accountable."
Democrats will be under pressure to show that they have solutions for voters' anger and frustration about the direction of the country. About 7 in 10 voters nationally say Congress is not doing enough to provide checks and balances on the presidency, according to The AP Voter Poll.