President Donald Trump seems more concerned with his Washington beautification projects than his party’s midterm election wipeout. Trump signed a proclamation on Thursday that he said will prevent future changes to the Oval Office and Cabinet Room, both of which he redesigned. It’s the third day this week that the president has delivered remarks fixated on his construction pet projects, including a White House ballroom and the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.
Meanwhile a handful of remaining Senate and House races, still to be called by The Associated Press, will determine the strength of Democrats’ majority in Congress. Senate contests in Alaska and Mississippi have narrow margins with votes still outstanding, even as the scale of Democrats’ victory across the country comes into focus. There are still dozens of House races that have not yet been called.
Democrats in Texas took control of the state House for the first time since 2002, though Republicans will maintain control of the state Senate. In this year’s midterm elections, Democrats have taken full control — both statehouse chambers and governors’ offices — in at least five states where they previously shared power.
And another wipeout for stocks overwhelmed Wall Street, in part tied to nationwide Democratic victories and the possibility that governments could force pauses in construction of more data centers.
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The president signed a proclamation that he says will preserve the Oval Office and Cabinet Room as a national monument, his first official action after his party was swept aside in midterm elections.
But the action does not prevent future presidents from restyling the iconic office, which Trump has filled to the brim with gold flourishes, nor does it prevent a successor from rolling back the proclamation itself. Trump himself has reversed national monument designations made by his predecessors.
Trump, however, described the Oval Office order in expansive terms. “It will not be allowed to be touched by anybody, destroyed, ripped down by stupid people, in order to build something in a slightly different shape,” Trump said. “We like the Oval Office, and it’s a symbol, like the White House itself.”
It was the third day this week that the president delivered remarks fixated on his pet projects in Washington.
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U.S. Rep. Shomari Figures won another term despite Alabama Republican lawmakers reshaping his district with the intent of making his reelection more difficult. Strong turnout among Black voters helped propel Figures, 41, over his Republican opponent in a new district that Trump won by double digits two years ago.
It was among several victories for Black Democrats across the South — including the governor’s race in Georgia — along with near-misses in places like Florida where Republicans have been dominant.
Party leaders and activists framed the results as a repudiation of Trump and of the Supreme Court’s decision this year that gutted the Voting Rights Act and allowed Republican-led states to redistrict in a way that weakened Black congressional representation.
The Republican president’s crackdown on diversity initiatives in his second term and his efforts to limit how the U.S. government tells the nation’s history on race and civil rights also motivated Black voters, said LaTosha Brown, co-founder of Black Voters Matter.
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In an interview Thursday with The New York Times, the secretary of state acknowledged that the higher cost of gas isn’t “the kind of thing you campaign on and brag about.”
Rubio said, however, that doing things that may not be popular with voters but are necessary for the country’s future “is the price of leadership.”
His comments come after Vice President JD Vance offered his own autopsy Wednesday of what the GOP got wrong in the midterms, saying much of it was ignoring how unpopular the war with Iran had become.
Both Rubio and Vance are rumored to be possible presidential contenders in 2028.
Rubio also denied reports that he was leaving the State Department to kick off that campaign.
Musk spent at least $445 million in a gambit to help Republicans keep control of Congress, an amount roughly equivalent to someone on a $100,000 annual salary saving every penny for 4,400 years.
To the world’s first trillionaire, it’s a pittance, but the billions of dollars’ worth of business his companies do with the federal government is not. And on Tuesday night, a Republican Party that had embraced Musk lost again and again, ceding control of Congress to a Democratic Party leery of the world’s richest person and keen to put his companies and his work at the Department of Government Efficiency under a microscope.
Nobody may have suffered bigger losses Tuesday than President Donald Trump. But few others had more on the line than Musk, who gambled big and came up holding the midterms’ worst return on investment. Democrats in Congress were already queuing to get their shot at Musk, with possible subpoenas and investigations.
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The race to replace Sen. Marsha Blackburn is intensifying just days after she won the race for governor, with one Republican congressman publicly expressing interest and speculation swirling around Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
Rep. Tim Burchett, a Tennessee Republican who won reelection Tuesday, told AP he wants to be considered when Blackburn becomes governor in January.
“Absolutely. Absolutely,” Burchett said.
Hegseth has also surfaced as a potential replacement, with his future uncertain after Republicans’ sweeping midterm losses. But Hegseth is not currently being considered, according to a person familiar with the matter who discussed the private conversations on condition of anonymity.
The person said Blackburn is focused on her transition to the governorship and dismissed speculation about appointing Hegseth to the seat as baseless chatter.
Blackburn has indicated that she plans to retain the seat until she is sworn in as governor, allowing her to appoint her own replacement.
— Joey Cappelletti
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Connecticut Sen. Richard Blumenthal, the top Democrat on the Homeland Security Committee’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, has issued warning letters to Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr and cryptocurrency companies linked to Trump.
Blumenthal issued the notices Thursday, asking the recipients to produce records by Jan. 4, the day after the new Democratic majority is sworn in. If they do not comply, Blumenthal wrote, the panel will be left with “no choice but to consider alternative measures to obtain compliance.”
The initial letters, issued two days after the election, are based on investigations that the panel’s Democrats have conducted in the last two years, including an inquiry into tactics used by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, what Democrats say are Carr’s efforts to “silence free speech” and the cryptocurrency companies’ links to Trump.
The panel also issued a notice to tech companies and other donors to Trump’s White House ballroom.
The president praised Hegseth amid questions about whether the president will replace him.
“He’s doing a fantastic job,” Trump said, before listing off what he framed as accomplishments, including the Iran war and the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
Earlier in the day, Hegseth vowed to fight back after Democrats made major gains in the midterm election and some lawmakers vowed to push impeachment proceedings against him.
“We’re building more weapons right now in our military than we’ve ever built before, and we’re locked and loaded,” the president said during his Oval Office exchange with reporters. “If we have to do the rest of the Iran thing, we’re very much locked in.”
Trump has threatened for weeks to return to a full-scale bombardment of Iran once the U.S. elections are in the rearview mirror if Tehran does not come to a settlement under terms acceptable to him.
Qatari mediators continue talks with Iranian officials to try to press for a deal. The president reiterated his position that Iran will have to make commitments on its nuclear program in any potential deal.
The president said he met with Vladimir Putin’s envoy at the White House on Thursday but did not meet with Ukrainian officials who were also visiting.
Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, Trump said he had a meeting with Kirill Dmitriev. “I can’t tell you what I discussed,” Trump said.
Asked if he had met with Ukrainian representatives, Trump said he had not. Representatives from both countries were at the White House for an event honoring Melania Trump’s work brokering a ceasefire in Oleshky.
After declining to elaborate on his meeting with Dmitriev, Trump suggested some sort of deal is in the works.
“Its going to be an agreement, it’s going to be a big agreement and it’s going to involve more than Ukraine,” Trump said, adding that it might include all of Europe.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has vowed to fight back in a new social media video after Democrats made major gains in the midterm election and some lawmakers vowed to push impeachment proceedings against him.
Hegseth acknowledged that “a disgruntled, defeated congressman, along with all his Democrat allies, has also dropped sham articles of impeachment against yours truly,” referencing Republican Rep. Thomas Massie.
Massie first introduced the articles of impeachment in September and has pledged to revive them next week unless Hegseth resigns.
In his video Hegseth argued that “it’s all about the politics of personal destruction” and said that “won’t work with me. You can rest assured of that.”
He also defended his anti-diversity policies, the administration’s war in Iran and strikes on alleged drug-smuggling boats in Latin America, saying that “narcoterrorists should die, not be caught and released.”
The signing comes two days after voters, dissatisfied with his economic policies, threw dozens of Republicans out of office, delivering control of Congress to Democrats.
It’s also the third day this week that the president, a real estate mogul, has delivered remarks fixated on his pet projects in Washington, including an opulent ballroom and the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.
A brutal sell-off swept through Wall Street, led by stocks tied to the buildout of AI data centers. The S&P 500 fell 4.4% Thursday for its worst drop since President Donald Trump shook markets worldwide in April 2025 with his “Liberation Day” tariffs.
The wipeout more than erased the market’s gain from the day before, which was its best in three months. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped more than 1,800 points, and the Nasdaq composite tumbled 5.5%.
AI stocks worldwide felt pressure as worries rise about possible moratoriums on data centers following Democratic victories in the U.S. midterm elections.
The Trump administration is increasing by $50 million the amount of reward money it offers for information leading to the arrests of three leaders of the Venezuelan cartel Tren de Aragua.
The State Department said it was boosting from $4 million to $20 million the reward for Yohan José Romero, from $5 million to $15 million the reward for Giovanni Vicente Mosquera Serrano and creating a new $15 million reward for Juan Gabriel Rivas Núñez.
It said the three men are all senior members of Tren de Aragua, which the administration designated a foreign terrorist organization last year. All three have been indicted in U.S. federal court for providing material support to a designated terrorist organization.
A Democrat won a western Iowa legislative district in Tuesday’s elections, even though he had suspended his campaign two months ago because of health issues, a sign of Democrats’ midterm sweeping success nationwide.
Eric Armstrong still appeared on the ballot and was elected with 55% of the vote to represent the state House district that belongs to current Democratic state Rep. Josh Turek, who won his bid for U.S. Senate Tuesday. The district went for Republican President Donald Trump two years ago. (edited)
In a Sept. 7 Facebook post, Armstrong wrote that he had “personal health issues that require my full attention and immediate care” and that he was “stepping down from my campaign, effective immediately” to prioritize his health.
Armstrong wrote again Thursday that he was proud of his win and would be “open and upfront about what comes next.”
“The voters of District 20 sent a clear message about the direction they want for Iowa,” he wrote, “and I will make sure that message is carried to the Capitol in January.”
Gov.-elect Gina Hinojosa said that Abbott, who she defeated in the election in the historically red state, “made sure to make me understand that they are going to fully cooperate with this transition.”
When asked whether she was concerned about Republicans in the legislature working to undermine her, Hinojosa said that “Texans have spoken” and that she hopes “elected leaders from both parties don’t get in the way of the progress we can make together to deliver for working people.”
Mike Hurst, the state party chairman, made that statement in an afternoon press conference in Jackson, the state capital.
He said the party estimates that as many as 20,000 votes are outstanding in the Senate race, a combination of late-arriving mail and provisional ballots that Hurst says come from Republican-leaning areas.
“Let me be very, very clear,” Hurst said. “This election is far from over.”
Hurst said the party was ready to take legal action if the count is improper but will accept the results if the count is fair and legal.
“There is no election denying going on here,” he said.
Hinojosa made that pledge in her first press conference since beating Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, becoming one of several Democrats who won statewide in Texas for the first time in more than 30 years.
“People are tired of the divisions, tired of the fighting, tired of the culture wars,” said Hinojosa, “I’m going to be a governor for all of Texas.”
She then introduced Ernest Bailes, who described himself as a conservative Republican who would be part of her transition team.
“I believe in Gina and I have faith that we will be able to do good things for the state of Texas,” he said. “We will put partisanship aside.”
Crowley, a Democrat, is the first Black person elected governor in Wisconsin.
He deflected questions about the historic nature of his win at a news conference the day after the election. But in an interview with The Associated Press on Thursday, Crowley said “it has sunk in a little bit more.”
“For me, it’s about making sure I’m not the last,” he said. “What I’m going to be remembered for is what I do in the seat and the results that we deliver.”
Crowley referenced the song from the musical “Hamilton” about the importance of being “in the room where it happens.”
“Being in a room where it happens doesn’t mean anything unless you can actually make an impact,” he said. “And that’s really my focus.”
Nithya Raman, a little-known Los Angeles City Council member backed by the Democratic Socialists of America, has defeated Mayor Karen Bass, an upset that will alter the trajectory of the nation’s second largest city.
The India-born Raman’s upstart campaign marked a generational shift at City Hall as voters followed the lead of New York, where democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani was elected last year. Raman, though, never attracted the same level of national attention and stressed her willingness to break with the progressive party at times during the campaign.
Her entry into the race marked a stunning change of heart after she had initially endorsed Bass, once her ally. She said the city had reached a “breaking point” and announced her own candidacy just before the filing deadline.
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Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer is vowing that Democrats will not allow President Donald Trump to put “a right-winger” on the Supreme Court once they take power, raising the possibility that his party could block a presidential nominee if there is a vacancy in the next two years.
In an interview with The Associated Press on Thursday, Schumer would not say if he would hold a Supreme Court vacancy open until after the next presidential election, as former Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell did in 2016. But he said that Democrats are “not going to allow any crappy nominees” to be confirmed to the Supreme Court — or to the lower courts or Trump’s Cabinet, either.
“The bottom line is we’re not going to allow a right-winger on the court,” Schumer said.
Schumer’s pledge came two days after Democrats won a decisive Senate majority in the midterm elections.
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The embattled incumbent said in a statement Thursday that she called Raman, a fellow Democrat, to congratulate her on her victory.
The Associated Press has not called the race.
“While this is not the outcome we hoped for, the people of Los Angeles have spoken,” Bass said. “I have committed to ensuring a smooth and seamless transition. Moving this city forward is what Los Angeles needs from all of us.”
Rep. Jamie Raskin, the incoming House Judiciary Committee chairman, noted Thursday at a Center for American Progress forum that he’s written 200-plus investigative letters to the Department of Justice and White House during Trump’s second presidency.
Anyone wondering what his committee will prioritize next year can consult that public record, he said.
“It’s a pretty good trail of crumbs of what we’re going to do,” Raskin said. “This is not a game of surprise or gotcha. We’re talking about trying to defend our system of government against authoritarians here.”
Asked about Trump potentially pardoning his lieutenants, Raskin noted any recipient still would be subject to civil liability and state criminal prosecution. He also argued that Trump issuing any pardon related to criminal activity he was involved in personally could constitute an impeachable offense under the Constitution’s “high crimes and misdemeanors” standard.
The Trump administration on Thursday escalated its economic campaign against Cuba, issuing a determination that clears the path for sanctions on several crucial sectors of the island’s economy.
Those sectors include electronics, manufacturing, marine and technology. The State Department also ordered penalties on China-based suppliers of Cuba’s military forces.
“The identification of these new sectors targets the regime and those who enable it, not the Cuban people,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement, insisting that humanitarian aid is still authorized to enter.
A ballot measure approved Tuesday by Washington voters will prohibit transgender athletes from participating in girls’ school sports.
Proponents say the new law will increase fairness and safety in girls’ sports. Opponents had argued the measure could require invasive exams of many athletes to weed out a small number of transgender ones.
Similar laws are common in Republican-controlled states. But lawmakers in Washington and other Democratic-dominated states have not previously advanced them.
Republicans have emphasized the issue in recent years — and a growing number of Democratic politicians have aligned with them, at least partly.
The measure was placed on the Washington ballot through a citizens’ initiative. The state Legislature could change or repeal the law after two years with a simple majority, or sooner with support of two-thirds of both the House and Senate.
Fresh off winning a third term, the potential Democratic presidential contender said Thursday he wants to see the new Congress “walk and chew gum at the same time” by helping lower consumer costs and still conducting accountability hearings and investigations into the Trump administration.
“That could lead possibly to impeachment,” Pritzker said at a Center for American Progress forum, but that shouldn’t be the initial point.
The long-term goal, Pritzker argued, is to gather details about Trump’s and his associates’ activity so “the American public could understand what it is, then we could actually take action to prevent it next time.”
Without calling names, Pritzker added, “There are certain officials other than the president that ought to be targets.”
Republican congressional candidate David Flippo has conceded the race for Nevada’s 2nd Congressional District and congratulated Teresa Benitez-Thompson, the first Democrat to win the historically red seat in northern Nevada.
“The voters have spoken, and I respect their decision,” he said in a Wednesday night statement.
The Air Force veteran and business owner campaigned as a major Trump ally with strong conservative values. He faced major scrutiny since he moved from southern Nevada to join the race after longtime Republican Rep. Mark Amodei announced his retirement.
Flippo was accused of exaggerating his military awards and had delayed filing required financial disclosures. Amodei refused to endorse Flippo, calling him a fraud.
In his concession statement, Flippo said establishment Republicans and “their allies in the media in Nevada, Montana, and Texas turned against their own party, costing races across the country.”
The U.S. Capitol dome is reflected in the body of a parked car, Wednesday Nov. 4, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib)
Scenes outside the office of House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., at the Capitol, Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Allison Robbert)
