Democrat Scott Colom was declared the winner of Mississippi's U.S. Senate race on Wednesday, defeating Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith. The result came more than a week after election day. Colom will be the state's first Black senator since Reconstruction, and the first picked by voters, not lawmakers.

The two earlier Black senators, Hiram Rhodes Revels and Blanche Kelso Bruce, were Republicans picked by the legislature during Reconstruction. The BBC reports it is the first Democratic win for the seat in more than 40 years. Colom will take the oath of office in January.

The BBC also reports that, according to FEC records, he trailed Hyde-Smith in campaign donations. It says the NAACP reported knocking on doors and visiting churches across the state in the run-up, and that exit polls showed 91% of Black voters backed Colom. Political scientist Marvin King told Axios that Democrats gained ground in most of the state's counties.

Hundreds gathered at Tougaloo College in Jackson for Colom's victory speech. Mississippi Republican Party chair Mike Hurst congratulated him and said Colom ran a good campaign. Mississippi votes for governor and other statewide offices in November 2027.

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White House counsel Will Scharf said Wednesday on Newsmax that he will fight "tooth and nail" against investigations planned by House Democrats. He said they "can't investigate for the purpose of inflicting pain on government officials." He was defending a letter, three pages long, that he sent to Rep. Robert Garcia of California, the Democrat expected to chair the House Oversight Committee once Democrats take control of Congress in January.

The letter, dated Monday and first reported by Punchbowl News, warns that threats meant to deter officials from public service, or legal process designed only to abuse or frighten recipients, "may cross the line into blatant criminality." Garcia says Democrats will not be intimidated, citing the Constitution, and suggests Trump has "something to hide." On Wednesday he also told Stephen Miller he "should be preserving documents."

The Epoch Times reports Garcia said on Nov. 10 that the committee has been looking at former chief of staff Susie Wiles, over allegations she lobbied for interest groups. Wiles has not publicly commented on his remarks, the outlet says. Just the News reports that Attorney General Todd Blanche told administration staff on Sunday, "If you work in this administration, you have a lawyer.

It's me."

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Abdul El-Sayed, the Michigan Democrat elected to the U.S. Senate in the midterms, says he will likely be sworn in on a Qur'an. He will be the first Muslim in the Senate. He spoke in an interview with NPR's Leila Fadel, published Thursday.

"I will likely swear on a Quran," he said, adding that he has not chosen which copy. He named two options: the copy once owned by Thomas Jefferson, which Keith Ellison used when he took his oath in Congress, and an old Qur'an held by the University of Michigan. The Blaze reports that El-Sayed said Vice President JD Vance is "constitutionally obligated" to swear him in and called that a "delicious irony."

The Blaze also gives the latest count as 52.5% for El-Sayed and 45.5% for Mike Rogers. The Daily Wire reports that in the same interview El-Sayed said he would prefer Sen. Chris Van Hollen to replace Chuck Schumer as Senate Democratic leader. It says his other stated goals include Medicare for All, abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement and ending the Iran war.

According to The Blaze, El-Sayed said the oath means more for America than for him: "America is big enough."

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Democratic state Sen. Cindy Holscher has won the race for governor of Kansas, defeating Republican Ty Masterson, the state Senate president, who had President Trump's endorsement. The Associated Press called the race on Thursday, Nov. 12, after Tuesday's midterm election. Holscher had declared victory earlier.

She succeeds Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly, who was term-limited. Holscher led 50.3% to 49.7% when the race was called, according to the Washington Examiner. AP describes it as the closest Kansas governor's race since 1974.

A statewide pause on new data centers for artificial intelligence was a cornerstone of Holscher's campaign. Republicans outspent Democrats more than 3-to-1 overall, AP reports. The Republican Governors Association put $19 million into television and digital ads, according to AdImpact.

Masterson conceded on X, saying "It looks like we will come up just short," Fox News reports. Adam Hamilton also won a U.S. Senate race, the first Democratic win of that kind in Kansas since 1932, and Chris Mann ousted Attorney General Kris Kobach.

Democrats have secured a majority of the nation's governorships for the first time in two decades, AP reports.

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Stephen Miller replaced Susie Wiles as White House chief of staff on Monday. Miller, an immigration hard-liner, is described by Semafor and the Los Angeles Times as the architect of Trump's hard-line immigration policies, including the mass deportation program. In an interview with Ross Douthat on 60 Minutes, Trump acknowledged his deportation policy might be "too tough."

He said, "I'd love to do something on immigration," and called a bipartisan deal "doable." Trump also said his handling of immigration "both helped and hurt" in the midterm elections. Democrats will control the House and Senate in the new Congress, which is sworn in on Jan. 3.

On Monday, Trump said, "We're not going to have amnesty or anything." White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers said his "strong immigration policy remains unchanged." House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries called Miller "a stone-cold racist" and said he has "zero interest in working with that kind of individual."

Rep. Robert Garcia, who will head the House Oversight Committee, said Democrats will investigate actions he called unconstitutional, unjust and possibly illegal, with Miller at their center. An administration official told Semafor the two sides are too far apart to avoid a "crazy bill."

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Democrat Scott Colom defeated Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith in Mississippi's US Senate race. The Associated Press called the race on Wednesday, Nov. 11, after more than a week of counting absentee and affidavit ballots. With an estimated 99% of ballots counted, Colom had 49.2% of the vote to Hyde-Smith's 48.7%.

Colom is a district attorney. He becomes the state's first Black senator since the Reconstruction era. Hyde-Smith conceded in a video posted online, and a spokesperson said she first called Colom.

Mississippi law allows neither automatic recounts nor ones requested by candidates, but a court can order one. Donald Trump carried the state by nearly 23 points in 2024. Hyde-Smith had blocked former President Joe Biden's nomination of Colom to a federal judgeship, citing his stance on transgender issues, among other reasons.

The result gives Democrats 55 seats in the 100-member Senate, and the Alaska race has not been called. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer wrote that "blue Mississippi is here."

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On Wednesday, an Alaska state judge refused a request by Democratic Senate hopeful Mary Peltola's campaign for a roster of absentee voters with rejected ballots. Superior Court Judge Thomas Matthews called the request "not reasonable," citing the time crunch election officials face while counting continues. He ruled a day after hearing arguments.

The campaign had sued state elections officials, also seeking the reasons for each rejection, and said it wants all qualified voters' ballots counted. State attorneys argued the information would violate voter privacy. Sullivan's campaign backed the state and asked that any data released go to all candidates equally.

Peltola and Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan, a two-term incumbent, are the main contenders in the ranked vote race, the only Senate contest still too early to call. Overseas ballots can arrive through Nov. 18, also the target date for ranked vote tabulations if no one wins over 50% of first-choice votes. Fox News reports Peltola led by just over 600 votes as of Monday.

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White House counsel Will Scharf sent a letter, dated Monday, to Rep. Robert Garcia, the California Democrat set to chair the House Oversight Committee when Democrats take over the House in January. Scharf wrote that threats intended to discourage executive branch officials from public service, or process intended solely to harass or frighten the recipient, may cross into "blatant criminality." The letter cites Democrats' posts about handing out subpoenas "like candy" and Garcia's "lawyer up" warning after the Nov. 3 midterms.

Punchbowl News first reported it. In a statement, Garcia said it appears Donald Trump "has something to hide." Garcia added that Congress draws power from Article I of the Constitution, not White House approval, and Democrats will not be deterred by "baseless threats."

Democrats plan to examine Trump family finances, the administration's handling of the Epstein investigation, immigration enforcement and the White House ballroom. Attorney General Todd Blanche said on CNN that "there could be" a crime to investigate if Democratic rhetoric turned threatening. Later, in Missouri, he said the Justice Department will keep working with Congress.

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Democrats won full control of state government, meaning the governor's office and both legislative chambers, in six states in the midterm elections: Arizona, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. That opens a path to sidestep the Electoral College without a constitutional amendment. The National Popular Vote Interstate Compact binds states to give their electoral votes to the candidate who wins the most votes nationwide.

It takes effect only once members hold 270 electoral votes. Eighteen states and the District of Columbia have joined, holding 222. Pennsylvania and Michigan plus two of Wisconsin, Arizona and Nevada would be enough.

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said the national popular vote "makes sense," and Wisconsin Gov. David Crowley said of the Electoral College, "We can do away with it." Tyler August, the Republican leader in the Wisconsin Assembly, said the plan would "disenfranchise Wisconsin voters." Hans von Spakovsky of the conservative Advancing American Freedom said he thinks the Supreme Court would rule that a compact cannot do this.

To apply in 2028, states holding at least 270 electoral votes must join by July 20 of that year. AP reports conservative groups are almost certain to bring legal challenges.

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Democrats have won control of the Georgia state House after The Associated Press determined on Monday that enough races had gone their way. As of that day Democrats had 91 seats and Republicans 86, with three not called. One of those involves a secretary of state investigation into the late upload of a memory card with nearly 400 votes.

Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms won the governorship, so the party holds the House and the governor's office for the first time in more than 20 years. Republicans kept the Georgia Senate. The flip brings Democrats' gains to at least 12 legislative chambers nationwide, the largest gain in one election since Republicans' 2010 wave.

HuffPost counts 549 state legislative seats flipped as of late Monday, with dozens of races still uncalled. Democrats will hold full control in Arizona, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. Politico reports they also won the Texas House for the first time since 2002.

The AP has not called the North Carolina Senate or either Alaska chamber. In Idaho Democrats gained six seats, but Republicans keep supermajorities in both chambers.

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Republican Rep. Ken Calvert defeated fellow Republican Rep. Young Kim in California's 40th Congressional District. The Associated Press called the race for Calvert on Monday, a week after the Nov. 3 election. With 71% of votes counted, he led 53.6% to 46.4%, according to the AP.

Calvert had declared victory on Thursday. The two ended up in the same district after California voters approved new House boundaries under Proposition 50, a Democratic-backed measure. The district spans parts of Orange and Riverside counties.

Calvert, first elected in 1992, is the longest-serving Republican in the state's House delegation. Kim congratulated him in a statement and said Gov. Gavin Newsom's "political redistricting scheme" forced two Republicans into the race. Roll Call reports the campaign was bitter: Calvert claimed Kim was no true conservative and backed tax increases, while Kim accused him of growing rich on stock trades.

Roll Call also reports Democrats are likely to hold 48 of California's 52 House seats next year. Fox News reports the state's Republican delegation drops from nine seats to three or four.

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Republican Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar won a new term in Florida's 27th Congressional District, which includes parts of Miami. CBS News and NBC News projected her win over Democrat Eliott Rodriguez, a former local news anchor. A machine recount, triggered automatically under Florida law, finished Tuesday, and her lead held at roughly 1,000 votes.

CBS News puts the margin at 1,086 votes. Just the News reports 50.2% to 49.8%. Rodriguez had sued Miami-Dade elections supervisor Alina Garcia, alleging she favored Salazar.

A judge dismissed the suit on Monday and the recount went ahead. Garcia had told the Miami Herald that Salazar had won "with or without a recount," later clarifying that a Rodriguez win was possible but not probable. She says there are no conflicts of interest.

In September, Salazar said many Hispanic voters feel betrayed by immigration enforcement that has "gone too far." CBS News reports the state will certify the results Nov. 17.

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Senate Republicans reelected John Thune of South Dakota as their leader on Tuesday, after midterm elections on Nov. 3 that cost the party at least seven Senate seats and the majority. Thune ran unopposed and takes over as Senate minority leader once the new Congress begins in January. A handful of senators, led by Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson, had pushed to delay the leadership elections.

The conference voted to go ahead, and Johnson walked out as voting began. Johnson said his objection was not to Thune, whom he said the party's base has unfairly attacked. Fox News reports the vote to proceed was 31 to 15.

Several senators described the closed-door talks as frank, and no challenger to Thune emerged. The rest of the leadership team was also reelected, and Sen. Bernie Moreno of Ohio was chosen to head the party's Senate campaign arm. Two Senate races, in Alaska and Mississippi, remain uncalled.

Some Republicans have criticized Thune for declining to change filibuster rules to pass the SAVE America Act, a voter ID bill. Trump said Thune is "a very fine man" and that the choice was up to the Senate.

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Sen. Bernie Sanders, the independent from Vermont, said Tuesday that he will not support Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York for Democratic leader in the new Congress. He spoke at a news conference at the Capitol with Michigan Democratic Sen. Elissa Slotkin. Sanders said "the time is now for change" and called for a vigorous debate about the party's direction.

Slotkin said she is not actively seeking the job herself. She said she is "a no until and unless" she sees a concrete plan from any candidate. Democrats are set to take control of the Senate after the midterm elections and will hold at least 54 seats when the new Congress convenes in January.

Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland is considering a run for leader and said he is calling his colleagues. Schumer, 75, said at the Capitol, "I'm confident I will be elected." Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, who chairs the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, defended Schumer, according to the AP report in the Seattle Times.

CBS News reports that no contender has emerged to challenge him.

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House Republicans meet on Tuesday, Nov. 10, to choose their leader in the minority. The vote follows the Nov. 3 election, in which Democrats won control of both the House and the Senate. House Speaker Mike Johnson is not running for minority leader.

Majority Leader Steve Scalise of Louisiana and Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan of Ohio are competing for the job. They also faced off in 2023 after Kevin McCarthy was ousted. MS NOW reports Scalise won that conference vote 113-99, but neither man became speaker.

The vote is by secret ballot and a simple majority of the conference wins. According to NBC News, candidates make their pitches from 9 a.m. ET and the vote follows in the afternoon. Other posts are also contested.

Majority Whip Tom Emmer faces August Pfluger for whip. Conference Chair Lisa McClain faces Greg Steube and Erin Houchin. Senate Republicans are also set to vote in a closed-door election Tuesday.

Majority Leader John Thune is running for minority leader, and NBC News reports nobody has announced a challenge. Sens. David McCormick and Ron Johnson are among those who wanted the vote delayed. Senate Democrats elect their leaders in early December, NBC News reports.

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Mississippi's U.S. Senate race between Democrat Scott Colom and Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith was still undecided about a week after Election Day. The Associated Press unofficial count on Monday put Colom ahead by 2,574 votes. Tuesday, Nov. 10, is the cutoff for resolving provisional ballots, called affidavit ballots in Mississippi, and for receiving absentee mail ballots postmarked by Election Day.

Secretary of State Michael Watson, a Republican, said in a Monday post that 14,239 affidavit ballots had been processed, with roughly 77% accepted, and 2,732 absentee ballots were still out. All 82 counties must send certified results to his office by Friday, Nov. 13. Mississippi has no automatic recount.

A candidate who wants to contest the result would have to sue, most likely after certification. Hyde-Smith's campaign says she is "not backing down" and the election is not over. Colom's campaign manager says the campaign is confident Colom will win once every lawful vote is counted.

Hyde-Smith told reporters in the Capitol on Monday that votes are still being counted. Newsweek reports Mississippi has not elected a Democratic senator since 1982.

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CNN projected on Monday that Democrat Eileen Laubacher will defeat Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert in Colorado's 4th Congressional District. Laubacher, a retired Navy rear admiral who served on the National Security Council under President Biden, declared victory the same day. CNN's count showed her with 48.8% of the vote to Boebert's 47.9%, a gap of 3,352 votes as of Monday evening, according to UPI.

The Associated Press had not called the race on Monday. Boebert has not conceded. In a video on X she said counties still have time under Colorado law to finish counting and curing ballots, and that declaring victory now is like "icing a cake before it comes out of the oven."

Boebert reportedly is considering a recount, and her campaign has alleged unusual voting patterns without evidence. Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold said the state's elections are "safe, secure and accurate." The remaining ballots include military and overseas votes.

Boebert moved from the 3rd District to the more Republican 4th before the last election, after a narrow win in the 3rd. Laubacher went to Washington on Monday for new-member orientation.

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California voters rejected Proposition 40, a one-time 5% tax on the net worth of billionaires living in the state. The Associated Press called the race on Monday, with 52.8% voting against and 47.2% in favor, according to the New York Post and Just the News. The healthcare union SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West sponsored the measure.

Most of the money would have gone to healthcare to offset federal funding cuts, with the rest for education and food assistance. Backers estimated it would raise about $100 billion. Opponents far outspent supporters, and Google co-founder Sergey Brin was the biggest donor to the committee fighting the tax.

Two other measures on the ballot, Propositions 41 and 42, could have blocked the tax even if it passed. Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, opposed the tax. Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Ro Khanna supported it.

The union says it will seek a billionaire tax again in 2028 if state leaders do not better support the public health sector. The Los Angeles Times reports Sanders and Khanna are pushing a federal tax on billionaires.

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House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, a New York Democrat poised to become Speaker, spoke to reporters on Monday, Nov. 9, as Congress returned after midterm elections in which Democrats won the House and Senate. He said House Democrats will not give "a dime" to the administration's "violent mass deportation machine." Jeffries said Democrats will focus on affordability and also pursue accountability, telling "CBS Mornings" they are committed to "holding the crooks accountable."

He criticized Trump's elevation of Stephen Miller, saying Miller "has blood on his hands." Fox News reports he is a "hard yes" on a resolution to impeach Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, whom he faulted for the Iran war, and Fox adds the resolution also cites alleged constitutional violations. House Democrats hold leadership elections on Nov. 18.

Jeffries said he will talk to every member of the caucus and needs 218 votes. Asked whether he has them, he said "I guess we'll find out," but also that he is "very confident," according to the Washington Examiner. Several progressive members-elect told reporters they are undecided and want an agenda.

The Wall Street Journal reports Jeffries said he and Trump have not spoken since the election. Per Jeffries, the Democratic majority is likely to exceed 260 seats.

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Democrats won majorities in the House and Senate in the midterm elections and plan to use that power to investigate immigration enforcement and the Department of Homeland Security. Rep. Robert Garcia, poised to lead the House Oversight Committee, named former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and her adviser Corey Lewandowski as people who would face accountability. Rep. Bennie Thompson, the top Democrat on the House Homeland Security Committee, demanded that the department preserve all documents and prepare to hand them over.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal set a Jan. 4, 2027 deadline for records, or his subcommittee will consider other measures. Changing policy is harder. Major bills would need Republican support and probably Trump's approval, but some changes could pass through the budget process.

After House Homeland Security Committee Democrats posted "clear your calendar" to Markwayne Mullin, who leads the department, he answered "Deportations will continue." On Friday, Trump named Stephen Miller, who shaped many of his strictest immigration policies,, as chief of staff, replacing Susie Wiles. Vice President JD Vance said he is open to changing enforcement, for instance by directing more effort at companies that employ unauthorized workers.

According to RedState, Rep. Henry Cuellar, a Texas Democrat who is likely the next chair of the DHS appropriations subcommittee, told Fox News Digital he does not believe in defunding ICE but that serious guardrails are needed on the agency.

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President Donald Trump questioned the honesty of the midterm elections in a Truth Social post on Monday. "Does anybody really believe that this 'Election' was honest," he wrote, and asked how the polls could be "so wrong." He added that some early voting "dumps" were so large that winning was impossible and that "it's all about the machines."

The post gave no specific evidence of error or wrongdoing. Democrats won control of both the House and the Senate in the midterm elections. They have at least 54 Senate seats, and counting continues in some races, including Senate contests in Alaska and Mississippi.

On election night Trump told the New York Times he was "absolutely willing" to accept the results. On Saturday he reposted posts questioning Democrats' vote totals, Newsweek reported, though in the posts it saw he did not call the results fraudulent. State and local officials across the country said voting had been mostly problem-free.

Charles Stewart III, an MIT political scientist, said vote reporting on election night followed standard patterns. Stephen Miller, who replaces Susie Wiles, started Monday as White House chief of staff.

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Democrats won control of both chambers of Congress in Tuesday's midterm elections. NPR reports that affordability was a top concern for voters, as tariffs and the war in Iran pushed up prices, including food. Democrats now say they will take on President Trump's tariffs as part of a pledge to lower the cost of living.

Forbes reports that their agenda also targets Medicaid cuts and food prices, and that economists urge caution on fast inflation relief. According to The Center Square, Democrats won at least 54 Senate seats plus a House majority, with dozens of races still uncalled. A presidential veto can be overridden only with 67 Senate votes and 290 House votes, and the Center Square says no result in the remaining races gets Democrats there.

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said on Nov. 4 that the party will "get out of the gate fast," but he did not address the veto. Sen. Ron Wyden, in line to chair the Finance Committee, said he would use it to reassert congressional authority over trade policy. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer's bill to end the tariffs has 29 cosponsors and has not moved since Sept. 14.

Congress returns Nov. 9.

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Congress returns Monday, Nov. 9, for a lame-duck session after Democrats won the House and Senate in the midterm elections. Republican majorities end when the new Congress is seated on Jan. 3, 2027. Republican Rep. Thomas Massie, who lost a primary, is expected to push a resolution to impeach Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and ABC News says a showdown could come midweek.

Republicans including Vice President JD Vance have attributed the losses to the Iran war. Trump has defended Hegseth, and ABC reports he intends to keep him. House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries says he is a "hard yes" on impeachment.

Federal funding expires after Dec. 11, and ABC says lawmakers are far from a deal. The defense policy bill, surveillance law renewal and permitting reform are also pending. House Speaker Mike Johnson will not seek a leadership post, so Steve Scalise and Jim Jordan compete to lead House Republicans in a vote Tuesday.

House Democrats have set their leadership elections for Nov. 18, according to ABC News. Massie's petition to force a vote on a second Epstein files bill has 216 of the 218 signatures it needs, according to ABC News.

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Democrats won Tuesday's midterm elections after campaigns that drew on voter worries about AI and data centers. Vox cites an exit poll in which 56 percent of voters called AI and data centers a crucial or major factor in their vote for Congress. Democrats are now working out what to do about AI, and their priorities differ.

Abdul El-Sayed, who won Michigan's Senate race, wants a "full-on pause" on frontier AI research. Sen. Ed Markey has pledged subpoenas, writing on X that they will be printing many. Scott Wiener, an incoming House member from San Francisco, says every House Democrat he speaks to wants AI regulation, though ideas on what it should be may differ.

NBC News reports that President Trump has insisted Congress must limit AI regulation. At the state level, Texas Governor-elect Gina Hinojosa has vowed a statewide moratorium on data centers until lawmakers pass new guardrails. Georgia Gov.-elect Keisha Lance Bottoms said she plans to sign an executive order pausing data center developments.

Tech companies are responding. OpenAI published a framework pledging to pay its own way on energy. Meta President Dina Powell McCormick told the Wall Street Journal that starting new data center build-outs will be "very challenging."

Congress is sworn in on January 3.

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State election officials in Georgia said on Friday that a post-election check found a mismatch in Seminole County between the ballots checked in and the ballots cast. The check led them to a memory card whose votes had never been uploaded. In a southwest Georgia state House district, Republican Rep. Gerald Greene had been 58 votes behind Democrat Harry James.

With the card's votes added, the unofficial result puts him 262 votes ahead. Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, a Republican, has opened an investigation into how the error occurred. Newsweek reports the card held several hundred uncounted votes and that the seat could flip back to Republicans if county officials certify it before a Monday deadline.

Greene told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution he was "in disbelief." Newsweek says James has not commented publicly. Democrats appeared to win control of the Georgia House on Tuesday, according to unofficial results.

If Greene's lead stands, they would hold 92 seats in the 180-member chamber, one more than the 91 needed for a majority. Newsweek adds that House Democratic Leader Carolyn Hugley's office is looking into whether further action is needed.

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Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent from Vermont, said on NBC's Meet the Press on Sunday that Democrats should hold the Trump administration accountable once they take control of Congress in January. But he said they "cannot spend all of our time investigating Trump." He said the party should put working-class families first and aim to make a real difference in their lives.

Fox News reports that host Kristen Welker asked whether two years of investigations could jeopardize the mandate to lower prices, and Sanders answered "Yes, I do." Sanders said the election showed voters' disgust with Trump and a demand for real change. Democrats campaigned on affordability, including gas, grocery and healthcare costs.

Incoming House Oversight Committee leader Rep. Robert Garcia, a California Democrat, said Democrats could investigate Trump's pardons and allies including Elon Musk and White House Chief of Staff Stephen Miller. Yahoo News reports Sanders also told CNN he would be "open" to a proposal from Sen.-elect Annie Andrews to impeach Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. Fox News reports Sanders called Trump "mentally unbalanced" and "erratic" but also not stupid and a good politician, and said Democrats may be able to work with him, "maybe," on economic and healthcare issues.

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Democrats won big in Tuesday's midterm elections and will hold at least 54 Senate seats, with Mississippi and Alaska still too close to call, according to the Washington Examiner. Attention has turned to whether Chuck Schumer will lead the new Democratic majority. On Wednesday Schumer said, "I'll be re-elected as majority leader."

Michigan Sen. Elissa Slotkin told Politico she would not vote for him unless she sees a plan to help the lives of everyday Americans. The Washington Examiner reports she did not rule out a run for the job herself. NewsNation reports three incoming Democratic senators have said they won't back Schumer.

The New York Times reports aides say he has enough commitments of support. HuffPost reports the leader needs a majority of Democratic senators, likely 28, in a private meeting, and there may be no recorded vote. The group Indivisible has launched a "No Schumer Coronation" campaign asking Democrats to at least withhold votes until he commits to some progressive priorities.

Another group, Our Revolution, has called for replacing both Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries.

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Some Democrats say they will push for more clean energy to ease rising energy costs once they take control of Congress in January. They won majorities in both the House and Senate in the midterm elections. Democrats can open investigations and hearings into climate rollbacks and canceled green energy grants, and may try to restore renewable incentives.

After Tuesday's election, Trump said Democrats will send "things that are insane," and that he will veto them, speaking generally about legislation. He told Fox News that after "a couple of months of vetoes" he and Democrats will find ways to work together. Democrats lack the numbers to override a veto, so major changes would need Republican support.

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, the top Democrat on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, said Trump's attacks on clean energy drove up prices for taxpayers. The White House said Trump is willing to work with anyone on affordable, reliable energy. Democrats are also targeting healthcare access, trade tariffs and the Iran war.

David Victor, a University of California, San Diego professor, largely expects a federal stalemate. Leah Stokes, a political scientist, says states could take a great deal of climate action after Democrats' governor victories in states including Texas and Georgia.

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President Donald Trump said in a CBS "60 Minutes" interview, aired Sunday and recorded Friday, that his deportation policy may have been "too tough" and hurt him in the midterm elections. It was his first major interview since Republicans lost the House and the Senate. Host Ross Douthat asked the questions.

Trump said he gets high marks for removing "the bad ones" but is hurt because the policy also swept up people with good jobs whose only violation was entering the country illegally. At another point he said the policy "both helped and hurt" him. He said he could work out an immigration deal with Democrats, who take control of Congress in January.

He said yes when asked whether that could mean legal status for workers such as landscapers or hotel staff. He gave no specifics. He also said people on the far right want everyone removed and that some of them are in his administration.

On Friday, after taping, Trump named Stephen Miller, a key architect of his hard-line immigration agenda, as White House chief of staff. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer replied: "That's not a course correction. That's a promotion."

According to NBC News, Trump also blamed "bad messaging" for the losses.

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Voters on Tuesday elected Native American women to several firsts in tribal, state and federal races. Deb Haaland, a Laguna Pueblo citizen and former interior secretary, was elected governor of New Mexico, the first Native woman to win a state governorship. Peggy Flanagan, Minnesota's outgoing lieutenant governor and a White Earth citizen, was elected to the US Senate, the first Native woman in the chamber.

Only four Native people have served in the Senate, all men. Crystalyne Curley won election as the first female president of the Navajo Nation. She narrowly defeated attorney Justin Jones, according to unofficial results.

Curley and running mate Chris Deschene take office in January and plan to move the tribe away from coal. Tina Abrams was elected the first woman president of the Seneca Nation of Indians in western New York. In Alaska, the Senate race of Democrat Mary Peltola, a Yup'ik woman, is still undecided.

Advance Native Political Leadership and the news site ICT tally at least 75 winning candidates nationwide: Native women, non-binary or Two Spirit. Strategist Jordan James Harvill called it "a seismic shift."

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Abdul El-Sayed, the Democrat who won Michigan's Senate race, spoke on ABC's "This Week" on Sunday. He called President Donald Trump an "unserious fool," pointing to the war in Iran, a tariff war with Canada and Medicaid cuts paired with tax cuts for the richest Americans. He also said Democrats are ready to work with Trump if he wants to act serious.

El-Sayed said he has never met Trump and has had no outreach from him, but is happy to sit down with him. He said he would be "game" if Trump wants to pass "Trump Care for All," guaranteeing health care to everyone. He said that if Trump keeps up "foolishness," he will hire people like Stephen Miller.

Trump said on Friday that Miller would replace Susie Wiles as chief of staff, effective Monday. Asked about Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, El-Sayed did not pledge to back him for majority leader. He said he wants to see who else runs and voiced support for Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen, who has not announced a bid.

El-Sayed said that, as far as he knows, he had not heard from Republican opponent Mike Rogers.

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Democrats won Tuesday's midterm elections and, for the first time in Trump's two stints as president, Republicans lost control of both chambers of Congress. With a handful of seats uncounted, Al Jazeera reports Democrats have secured at least 253 of 435 House seats and at least 54 of 100 Senate seats. In a phone interview with Politico that night, Trump said Democrats had already called and want to work with him.

He said he has the right to veto everything but does not want to spend two years only vetoing. Congress can override a veto only with a two-thirds majority, which Democrats do not have in either chamber. Trump has vetoed twice this term and ten times in his first.

Michigan's Abdul El-Sayed said he could work with Trump, and Sen. Bernie Sanders said he would not rule out Trump signing Medicare for All legislation if Democrats get it through both chambers. Rep. Robert Garcia, set to chair the House Oversight Committee, posted "LAWYER UP" and Sen. Ron Wyden posted "Subpoenas." On Wednesday, White House spokesperson Lauren Bis said that if Democrats pursue "sham investigations and radical left policies," they are choosing to work against the American people.

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Democrats won control of Congress in the midterm elections held on Tuesday, and Wall Street reacted. ABC News reports that shares tied to artificial intelligence swung wildly on worries that Democratic wins in statehouses and Congress could slow data center construction. Defense companies Northrop Grumman, Lockheed Martin, RTX and General Dynamics fell between 4% and 12% after Tuesday, as investors expected Democrats to push to end the US war with Iran.

Several big oil companies also lost ground, since investors figured that ending the war would push oil prices down. Hospital shares rose on hopes that Medicaid and Affordable Care Act funding could be restored or boosted, and liquor makers rose on hopes of tariff relief. Tesla and SpaceX fell after the midterms, and Trump Media lost 33% of its market value.

Breitbart News reports that Democrats flipped at least seven Senate seats, with Alaska and Mississippi still uncalled. According to Breitbart, Vice President JD Vance wrote on X that the war is why Republicans lost, and Trump called that "largely true." ABC adds that crude prices plunged after the election and that the Federal Reserve is weighing another rate hike in December.

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Democrats won majorities in both the House and the Senate in the midterm elections on Tuesday, Nov. 3. Ballot counting is still going on in two Senate races. If Democrats and their allies win both, they will hold 56 Senate seats, the Guardian reports.

Hakeem Jeffries, who is set to become House speaker, named restoring Affordable Care Act premium tax credits and undoing Medicaid cuts as priorities. Jeffries also said he would push lawmakers to pass bills forcing Trump to reverse his tariffs and bring an end to the war with Iran. He said no member of the House Democratic Caucus has raised impeachment with him.

At a progressive convention on Saturday, Robert Garcia, the likely next chair of the House Oversight Committee, said the first few weeks of investigations will be "very aggressive," according to the Washington Examiner. He said Democrats are prepared to file civil contempt charges if Trump officials ignore subpoenas. Trump can still veto bills, and the Senate filibuster remains in place.

According to the Washington Examiner, Trump posted on Truth Social on Saturday that he directed the Justice Department to look into Democrats for threatening to investigate his allies. CBS News reports he named Stephen Miller White House chief of staff on Friday.

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Reuters reports that Democrats won a sweeping midterm victory and will soon control the US Senate. Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, a Democrat, will take the gavel as chair of the Senate Banking Committee in January, according to Yahoo News. Reuters says she would likely replace Tim Scott of South Carolina, a Trump ally.

The Wall Street Journal says the post gives her expansive authority over the financial industry. A source familiar with her plans told Yahoo News she intends to push legislation on affordability, focused on housing. The source says she will also use hearings and investigations into executive branch ethics and corporate practices, aimed at President Trump, his administration, Wall Street and Big Tech.

Yahoo News adds that any future Federal Reserve nominee will have to go through her committee. It reports that Warren earlier rallied Democrats against Fed Chair Kevin Warsh's confirmation, stalling it. Reuters reports she could also look into Warsh's handling of hundreds of millions of dollars in assets.

Yahoo News says big bank chief executives can expect to testify once a year again.

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Democrats won both the House and the Senate in the US midterm elections on Tuesday and will take control of Congress on January 3. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he expects more support from Washington. He thanked Republicans who stood by Kyiv and said Democrats speak clearly about backing Ukraine.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called a possible challenge from the new Congress an internal US matter and said he hopes President Trump will continue his peace efforts. Talks involving Russian, Ukrainian and US representatives are planned in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Trump said he met Kremlin envoy Kirill Dmitriev in Washington on Thursday and predicted a big agreement that, he said, might involve all of Europe.

Dmitry Medvedev, deputy head of Russia's Security Council, predicted Trump would be less inclined to press Ukraine once the new Congress is seated. Jorn Fleck of the Atlantic Council said Democrats will struggle to impose meaningful limits on Trump's foreign policy. Al Jazeera reports that US aid to Ukraine has slowed to a trickle since 2025 and that Republican Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania lost his seat.

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Republicans are weighing how to move forward after Tuesday's midterm elections left the party with its thinnest ranks on Capitol Hill in decades. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis called the result an "extinction-level event," and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz called it a "Watergate-level repudiation." AP reports that Trump has refused to acknowledge responsibility and blamed candidates.

HuffPost reports Trump called it "largely true" that the Iran war was the real reason, as Vice President JD Vance said, and added he would do it again. On Friday, Trump made Stephen Miller White House chief of staff and announced support for Republican National Committee chair Joe Gruters, while co-chair KC Crosbie plans to run for chair in January. House Republicans must choose between Steve Scalise and Jim Jordan as their leader once they are back on Capitol Hill.

The Washington Times reports that a group of Senate Republicans wants the Senate leadership elections delayed until the cause of the losses is determined. A New York Times report run by The Boston Globe says that Turning Point USA's political arm spent nearly $20 million backing Andy Biggs, who lost Arizona's governor race to Gov. Katie Hobbs by more than 10 percentage points.

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President Donald Trump said in a 60 Minutes interview with Ross Douthat that he may make "maybe a few changes" to his Cabinet after Republicans lost both the House and the Senate in the midterm elections. He did not say who might go. Excerpts were released on Friday, and the full interview is set to air Sunday.

Trump also announced Friday that longtime adviser Stephen Miller will replace Susie Wiles as White House chief of staff, effective Monday. Asked whether he still has confidence in Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, whose handling of the Iran war has drawn criticism, Trump said "I do." He added that "we've won two wars," pointing to Venezuela.

Asked whether Hegseth deserved credit for that operation, he said no, but that Hegseth was a part of it. Douthat said Trump agrees with Vice President JD Vance that the Iran war was the main driver of the GOP losses, but Trump still thinks going to war was right. The White House did not immediately respond to The Daily Beast's request for comment.

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Mississippi's U.S. Senate race between Democrat Scott Colom and Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith was still undecided on Friday, days after Election Day. The Associated Press says it is too early to call. Colom, a local prosecutor, could become the state's first Black senator since post-Civil War Reconstruction.

Nearly 40% of Mississippi's population is Black. Local officials in the state's 82 counties are examining absentee and affidavit ballots. Absentee ballots count if received by Tuesday, five business days after the election.

Voters with identification problems have until Tuesday to resolve them in person. Counties must certify full results to the secretary of state by the following Friday. Colom said ballots counted since the election lean in his favor.

Hyde-Smith essentially declared victory on election night and has not appeared publicly since, but she posted Friday that the election is not over and her team is monitoring the remaining ballots. Mississippi law has no provision for a statewide recount, though campaigns could seek court orders, usually county by county, to examine ballots. Democrats have already won control of the Senate, so the result would not change the balance of power in Washington.

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Democrats won control of both the House and the Senate in Tuesday's midterm elections, and Republicans are now debating who could lead the party in 2028. On Wednesday, Vice President JD Vance wrote on X that "The reason we lost is the war," referring to the war with Iran. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich wrote that the scale of the defeat makes the nomination race "wide open."

Vance remains the front-runner in prediction markets, but Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has gained. Kalshi has DeSantis at 19 percent, up 14.6 points, and Vance at 27 percent, according to Townhall. Secretary of State Marco Rubio denied reports that he would resign to prepare a run, telling the New York Times he will not talk about 2028.

DeSantis told CNN he will "be a free man" in January. Asked about Vance's plans, Trump said "Maybe he won't run." On Wednesday, CNN reported that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who faces criticism over the war, could face an impeachment vote in the House.

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Comedian Jon Stewart, host of The Daily Show, used an episode of his podcast The Weekly Show to press Democrats after their midterm election victories on Tuesday. He said the party must remove the seniority system from its politics, calling it a "bullshit system" that needs to go. He said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer "does not understand the urgency of the moment."

Stewart also said the moment is not about impeaching everybody and told Democrats they have a chance to govern. The Daily Beast reports he said the victory means nothing if squandered. Schumer has indicated he has the votes to remain the party's leader, The Hill reports, despite growing calls for a change at the top.

According to the New York Post, Schumer told reporters on Wednesday that "the issue is not me" and that he will be re-elected majority leader. The Post also reports that several senators-elect, including Kansas's Adam Hamilton, have indicated they would not support him when the new Congress convenes in January. Stewart criticized Schumer earlier, in March and September.

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Mississippi's US Senate race between Democrat Scott Colom and Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith had not been called days after the vote, as counting continued. The Associated Press put Colom ahead by 2,574 ballots in early Saturday afternoon figures, with an estimated 97% of expected votes tallied. His margin has grown since Election Day.

Absentee ballots must be received and provisional ballots verified by a Nov. 10 deadline. Mississippi has no automatic recount and does not let candidates request one. Only a court can order a recount.

Both campaigns say they are confident and have sent lawyers to the state. Hyde-Smith's campaign says it believes thousands of votes remain in dozens of Republican counties. It also wrote to officials in all 82 counties, demanding that provisional ballots be kept apart from regular and absentee ballots.

Colom's campaign says those demands have no basis in Mississippi law. Elias Law Group is representing Colom. Secretary of State Michael Watson, a Republican, says his office does not know how many provisional ballots remain.

If Colom wins, he would be the first Black senator from Mississippi since Reconstruction.

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Democrat Abdul El-Sayed won Michigan's U.S. Senate race in the Nov. 3 midterm election, defeating Republican Mike Rogers. The Daily Mail says he is set to become the first Muslim senator in January. NPR reports that Dearborn, a Michigan city, turned out in record numbers for him.

Reason, which calls Dearborn Arab-majority, reports it gave him 82 percent, compared with 36 percent for Kamala Harris in 2024. Reason says the campaign turned on the Middle East. Reason says Trump mocked El-Sayed's name and called him a Muslim Brotherhood member, and Rogers accused El-Sayed of backing that group.

El-Sayed disavowed it. Rep. Haley Stevens, his former primary rival, endorsed Rogers just before election day. She told The Free Press, as Reason reports, that his stance on Iran and Israel helped drive her decision.

The Daily Mail says Democrats won both chambers of Congress. The Epoch Times calls the result a historic Republican defeat and cites exit polls showing young voters moving toward Democrats. It says pollsters point to the economy, the Iran war and Israel.

The Daily Mail reports that Democratic strategist David Plouffe, a former Obama campaign manager, named El-Sayed a possible 2028 dark horse if Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez does not run.

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Young voters swung hard toward Democrats in Tuesday's midterm elections. The AP Voter Poll found about three-quarters of voters under 30 backed their local Democratic candidate. In 2024, young voters were roughly split between Trump and Kamala Harris, according to AP VoteCast.

Circle, a research center at Tufts University, estimates the second-highest youth turnout in a midterm in 30 years, behind only 2018. Its early data show voters 18-29 favoring congressional Democrats by a 35-point edge. Newsweek reports that men under 30 backed Democrats by a wide margin, a shift from the 2024 House vote.

Young voters pointed to the economy, the cost of living and, in the AP account, Trump's war with Iran. In the AP account, about six in ten voters under 30 said opposing Trump was one reason behind their House vote. Newsweek reports Democrats will hold at least 54 Senate seats and, citing AP projections, at least 253 House seats.

Pollster John Della Volpe says young voters are "up for grabs."

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President Donald Trump said in a Truth Social post on Saturday that he is ordering the Justice Department to look into Democrats for threatening people with impeachment and other forms of punishment. The post came days after Democrats won both the House and the Senate in Tuesday's midterm elections. Trump called the threats "extortion at the highest level" and wrote that "the imprisonment should be against these EXTORTIONISTS."

He also said Democrats are threatening Republican donors with imprisonment. Al Jazeera reports he gave no evidence for that. Trump singled out Michigan Sen. Elissa Slotkin, saying she threatened to go after all young people who believe in Republican values.

Fox News says he appears to refer to her Oct. 13 remarks at the University of Chicago, when she said she wanted a "deterrence message" sent to young people weighing jobs in his administration. Al Jazeera reports that probes of ICE, the Trump family's finances, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Attorney General Todd Blanche are among the plans announced by Democratic lawmakers and newly elected candidates. Reps. Hank Johnson and Deborah Ross have said they support impeaching Blanche.

In a later post, Trump urged people to report such threats to the DOJ or to him. The White House did not immediately respond to the Daily Beast's request for comment.

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Democrats won overwhelming victories in Tuesday's midterm elections and will hold both houses of Congress once the new members are sworn in. Winning candidates spoke of reining in President Trump's mass deportation effort. Some suggested presenting a new vision for immigration reform.

On Friday, Trump promoted Stephen Miller, described as the key architect of his hard-line immigration agenda, to White House chief of staff. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin had vowed on social media that "Deportations will continue." Democrats look prepared to investigate Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Department of Homeland Security through congressional oversight, now with subpoena power they lacked in the minority.

Rep. Robert Garcia, who will take over the House Oversight Committee, told the administration to "lawyer up." Their power to change policy is limited. Trump stays in office for two more years and can veto bills.

In summer 2025, Republicans put $150 billion toward detention space, the border wall and more deportation officers. They also frontloaded routine ICE and Border Patrol funding for the next three years. The AP Voter Poll found about 6 in 10 voters said enforcement had "gone too far."

Many administration supporters want the current Congress to pass lasting border security laws before it ends.

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Democrats won control of both chambers of Congress in Tuesday's midterm elections, and Republicans are now arguing over why they lost. Vice President JD Vance wrote on X that the Iran war is the reason. Trump later called Vance's claim "largely true," saying the war drove gasoline up "a little bit short-term."

He added that he would do it again, because he sees it as the only long-term answer. An NBC News exit poll, cited by the Daily Caller, found that 63 percent of voters called the US military action against Iran the wrong decision and 37 percent the right one. Kentucky Republican Sen. Rand Paul pointed to the cost of living, the war and tariffs.

Semafor reports that senior Republican lawmakers and strategists are reportedly urging the Trump administration to dismiss Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and bring the war to a quick end. It adds that a Republican lawmaker who is leaving Congress plans to seek impeachment proceedings in the House, and that the Senate outlook for such efforts is unclear. The Post Millennial reports that Stephen Miller replaces Susie Wiles as White House chief of staff and has urged Trump to end the war, citing The New York Times.

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Democrats won control of the Senate in Tuesday's elections and also regained the House. They will hold at least 54 of the Senate's 100 seats, and the Mississippi and Alaska results still being tallied could raise that to 56. Control of the Senate changes hands when the new Congress begins Jan. 3.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, likely the next majority leader, told The Associated Press that Democrats will not allow a "right-winger" on the Supreme Court. He said they are "not going to allow any crappy nominees" elsewhere in the federal judiciary or in Trump's Cabinet. Asked whether he would keep a Supreme Court seat vacant past the next presidential election, he declined to say specifically.

The White House said Thursday, through spokeswoman Lauren Bis, that Trump "will never let them pack the Supreme Court." Justices Samuel Alito, 76, and Clarence Thomas, 78, have not publicly indicated an imminent retirement. A senior GOP Senate aide said Republicans will try to confirm as many pending judicial nominees as possible in the lame-duck session.

Three nominees have cleared the Judiciary Committee and await floor votes. A White House official said the administration expects every judicial nominee now before the Senate to be confirmed by year's end.

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Democrats won control of both chambers of Congress in the midterm elections held Tuesday, and NBC News projected the full sweep. The Associated Press calls it their largest congressional majority in decades. The Christian Science Monitor says Democrats will hold at least 54 Senate seats and are expected to have a House majority of up to 81 seats.

Progressive Abdul El-Sayed won the Senate race in Michigan, and progressive Troy Jackson defeated Sen. Susan Collins in Maine, the AP reports. More moderate Democrats won upsets in Kansas and South Carolina and flipped North Carolina. In NBC's exit poll, more than 80% of voters said prices for basics such as gas, groceries and healthcare worry them.

The Monitor adds that voters also want action on the Iran war and corruption. Trump remains president and can veto bills, and Democrats lack the two-thirds majorities needed to override him. Trump said he would be willing to work with them.

House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries says the party will move to reverse Medicaid cuts and extend Affordable Care Act tax credits. The AP reports that the win did little to settle the party's debate over its direction. NewsNation reports that more than half of midterm voters had an unfavorable view of the Democratic Party.

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Democrats won control of both the House and the Senate in the midterm elections held Tuesday, ousting Republicans across the country. Republicans also lost in states Trump carried in 2024, including Texas, Kansas and South Carolina. The New Republic counts at least 54 Senate seats and 245 House seats for Democrats, with more wins possible.

In an AP poll of about 100,000 voters, about 9 in 10 called the cost of living a crucial or major factor in their vote. Trump told reporters the Iran war drove gasoline up "a little bit, short term," but said that if he had to do it again, he would. Vice President JD Vance wrote on X that the war is the reason Republicans lost.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis called the result a "rebuke of the president and the Congress" by Democrats, independents and some Republicans, and Sen. Thom Tillis called Vance's explanation "oversimplified." Oil prices fell on Wednesday as investors bet the Democratic wins would push Washington to wind down the war. Democrats do not have enough votes to override a Trump veto.

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