Democrats Seize Senate Control, Put Trump Under Fresh Political Pressure
Democrats have taken control of the United States Senate after flipping several Republican-held seats in Texas, South Carolina, Iowa, Ohio and Kansas, dealing President Donald Trump and his Republican Party a major setback in the midterm elections.
The development is expected to increase pressure on Trump, with Democrats also on course to take control of the House of Representatives, potentially giving the opposition party control of both chambers of Congress.
Trump, however, has said he is “absolutely willing” to accept the election results and work with Democrats, despite the Republican Party's losses.
The US president made the remarks during a phone interview with The New York Times on Tuesday night while monitoring election results at the White House.
“We’ll, you know, look forward to working with them. We’ll probably work something out,” Trump said.
He attributed the Republicans' poor performance partly to his absence from the ballot, arguing that the outcome might have been different had he contested the election.
Trump also defended his decision to launch military action against Iran, describing it as a “very wise decision”.
The president maintained that he had no regrets about endorsing Republican candidates, including South Carolina Senator Darline Graham and Texas Attorney-General Ken Paxton, who reportedly lost their Senate bids.
Speaking shortly before 10:30pm on Tuesday, Trump said he was following the results as the interview was taking place.
“I’m just looking at these results as I’m talking,” he said.
Reacting to Graham's defeat, Trump expressed surprise, asking: “I see that Darline lost. Wow, that’s amazing. How do you think Lindsey would have done if he ran?”
He was referring to Senator Lindsey Graham, whom the report said died in July.
All 435 seats in the House of Representatives and 35 of the Senate's 100 seats were contested in the midterm elections, while voters in 36 states also voted in gubernatorial races.
Vote counting continued on Tuesday night, with some results expected to remain uncertain until Wednesday or later.
