US midterms 2026 live: 'Trump Cartel' in Democrats' sights after President's rambling nonsense speech

US midterms 2026 live: 'Trump Cartel' in Democrats' sights after President's rambling nonsense speech Democrat fever is still very much in the air this morning, after Donald Trump's Republicans were resoundingly beaten in Tuesday's midterm elections - with two results still yet to come Donald Trump crept out of his White House bunker last night to give a rambling speech about his vanity project - the $600million ballroom. Despite US voters resoundingly telling the President that they don't care about his weird projects, Trump decided to tell the world that the ballroom would be "the most beautiful ballroom" in the world. He made no mention of the embarrassing election defeat, despite hitting out at Fox News and his own Republican candidates on social media. Elsewhere, the Democrat House minority leader, Hakeem Jeffries, has come out on the offensive. Yesterday, he seemed to try and calm down the hype about going after the Trump administration. Not anymore. He wrote to his new Democrat colleagues: "The days of the House functioning like a wholly owned subsidiary of the Trump Administration are over." Jeffries, who will be a candidate to be the new Speaker of the House, branded the administration 'the Trump Cartel'. He said that anyone "stealing from the American people, ripping off the American people or screwing over the American people can no longer hide. We are going to hold the crooks accountable." For updates on the US midterms 2026, follow our live blog below The Trump Cartel He wrote to his new Democrat colleagues: "The days of the House functioning like a wholly owned subsidiary of the Trump Administration are over." Jeffries, who will be a candidate to be the new Speaker of the House, branded the administration 'the Trump Cartel'. He said that anyone "stealing from the American people, ripping off the American people or screwing over the American people can no longer hide. We are going to hold the crooks accountable." Two states left to call Mississippi At the time of writing, Scott Colom currently sits on 464,926 votes (49 per cent), just over 1,000 ahead of Republican incumbent Cindy Hyde-Smith, who is on 463,788 (48.9 per cent), our US partner NBC News reports. With nearly 96 per cent of votes counted, an estimated 45,000 remain to be counted. Hyde-Smith needs 50.2 per cent of the remaining votes to get ahead of her rival and hold onto her seat. Alaska It's a similar story in Alaska. Democrat Mary Peltola has 48.2 per cent of the vote, with 102,962 votes. Republican incumbent Dan Sullivan has 47.9 per cent of the vote, with 102,325 votes. But both candidates have said they don't expect the results to come in for at least a few weeks, with around 75 per cent of the vote counted and 70,000 votes still to be tallied. Prime Minister weighs in on if midterm elections will be decline of popular right across world Asked whether he thought the results were part of a global pattern, he told broadcasters: “Well, I think people want to see the world coming together and focusing on the things that matter to people, and that’s what the voters, in my view, are saying in the United States. “Let’s get focused in a laser-like way on those cost-of-living issues and I think around the world there’s a recognition that countries can’t do that on their own, and can’t do that when we have division between between nations. “I’ve been working hard as Prime Minister to bring a new approach, a new approach in the Middle East, and the Foreign Secretary set that out. “A new approach to Europe and we believe that will help us get growth back up and reduce those cost-of-living pressures.” Andy Burnham reacts to the midterm election results Asked for his reaction to the results and whether he thought they would make Donald Trump more unpredictable, the Prime Minister said: “President Trump has accepted the results, and I feel the world has an opportunity now to unite around the issue that is affecting us all, and that’s the cost of living. “That has been the issue that I have put front and centre in my first three months in Downing Street, and we’ve made moves. But I can’t get people’s cost of living pressures down until the conflict in the Middle East is resolved. “The conflict between in Ukraine started by Russia. These are the things we have to focus on now, and I hope the world has a moment to do that. “And certainly, in my calls with leaders, that is what I will be asking everybody to do.” Asked whether he was worried there might be an escalation in the Middle East following the results, he said: “Well, I’ll be working for de-escalation to make it very clear. You know, we want to see a resolution, the Strait of Hormuz fully opened again. “That’s what we will be working towards.” Native American women make history New Texas senator wants to work with Trump on immigration reform Crowds in Iran's capital burn image of Trump, Vance, Netanyahu, and Witkoff Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth could be voted out - but still has Trump's backing Mr Hegseth, who has reportedly made few friends in the Capitol, has oversold the US' ability to win the Iran war quickly and easily, multiple Republicans told the outlet. They said he has continued to advocate for escalation despite little sign that continued bombing has brought Iran closer to surrender. The war, which was launched by joint US-Israeli strikes at the end of February, has entangled the US in the Middle East indefinitely. This has contributed to the affordability crisis and is thought to have triggered voters' midterm backlash. "If I had it to do again, I'd have to do it again," Mr Trump said of his decision to go to war. House could vote as soon as next week to impeach Pete Hegseth Many Republicans are blaming Mr Hegseth for the election results as they argue that behind the scenes, he played a chief role in convincing President Trump to attack Iran - with no exit strategy. This comes despite private acknowledgement from House and Senate GOP strategists that the Grand Old Party's problems extended far beyond the war. They appear unwilling to directly blame Mr Trump for the bloodshed at the polls. Amy Acton doesn't plan to call Vivek Ramaswamy back, reports say A source close to Democratic governor-elect Amy Acton's campaign says she has no plans to return Vivek Ramaswamy's call to her as the results came in, CBS reports. At his watch party, Ramaswamy said he had called Acton to concede, but she didn't answer and he left a message. The source confirmed Ramaswamy did call and it went to voicemail, but said, "there are no plans to call back given the ad with her abusive mother, and the entire manner in which he's run this campaign." Ramaswamy ran and initially refused to take down an ad featuring Acton's estranged mother, despite encouragement from some Ohio Republicans to do so. President Trump and Vice President JD Vance stood by the ad. Democrat Haley Stevens says she doesn't regret endorsing Republican But she added "I am truly sorry that it upset some of my colleagues and people I care about personally. "I regret my original endorsement, because I could have spared the country and my family from these past few days and from attempts to find a cause for an action that is consistent with a lifetime of my beliefs," she wrote. "The endorsement was the outlier act. Rescinding it was not." Ted Cruz says results are a "Watergate-level repudiation" "History was made last night," he said. "For months, we were saying that 2026 was the most consequential midterm election of our lifetimes. Unfortunately, we were right. Sometimes, history is to be celebrated. Other times, it is to be mourned. Always, it must be reckoned with. 2026 was not simply a blue wave. It was a blue tsunami. It was an ass kicking. It was not simply a bad 2006 midterm election. It was a Watergate-level repudiation." Cruz said they have to ask what happened and why, and where they go from here. The problem wasn't turnout, he said. "Instead, our voters, Republicans, libertarians, independents, showed up and voted, and rejected our candidates, voting Democrat instead. We've lost the House, we've lost the Senate." "Nowhere are the consequences of this election greater than Texas," he said, adding that he'd been warning for weeks that Republicans could lose it all. Cruz said he called Democratic Senator-elect James Talarico Tuesday night and congratulated him on his "impressive" victory. Cruz said Republicans need to understand that the country's "K-shaped economy" is a "yawning divide." Trump urges Congress to end clock changes Trump complained about early sunsets and the need to change clocks twice a year, arguing that Americans should not have to change their daily schedules. Trump said he did not want to make the issue a major focus before the midterm elections, claiming he wanted to avoid certain senators facing electoral consequences over clock changes. He also criticised the Senate for not taking up the legislation, despite "great" bipartisan support in the House, where the measure passed by a 308-117 vote. The lower chamber passed the Sunshine Protection Act 308-117 in July, sending it to the Senate, where it has faced opposition. The proposal would make daylight saving time permanent while allowing states to opt instead for permanent standard time. Supporters favour later sunsets, while opponents warn that the change would mean darker winter mornings, particularly for children traveling to school. His post on the social media platform reads: "Too bad the Senate has not yet approved the Sunshine Protection Act or, the I Don’t Want to Change My Clocks Anymore Act. "It’s so dark outside, so early (Sunset was 5:06 P.M., and it was dark by 5:31 P.M. — Isn’t that ridiculous?). Just a few days ago it was so nice and sunny at this same time. "In addition, everyone’s been running around changing their clocks all over the place. I didn’t want to make a big deal out of this prior to the Election because I didn’t want to have certain Senators lose their Race, in a landslide, but it is too bad they can’t get it done. "The House sent it over to the Senate with great bipartisan support, numerous times (308-117), but the Senate didn’t take it up. We have far bigger priorities, but I will keep fighting for this! President DONALD J. TRUMP" Donald Trump's eldest son gets vocal about reason for Republican losses Vice President Vance said the Iran war was "the real reason" the Republicans lost the midterms. In a lengthy post on X, he explained "everyone knows why we lost, and any honest conversation about where we go from here must start there". Donald Trump Jr responded to the comments with his own post, adding "every word of this is" followed by '100' emojis - showing his agreement with Vance's view. Last month, two sources told The Atlantic that Trump's eldest son opposed the Iran war from the outset and made his opinions known to his father. According to the report, he believed the US shouldn't enter another war in the Middle East. Mamdani: 'Ironic' that JD Vance blames midterm election losses on Iran war He said: "Not only is it an illegal war, it is one that should be opposed on political grounds, on economic grounds, on moral grounds. And it is something that the American people have spoken up loud and clear about. "And I have to say that I find it quite ironic to read a post from the vice president, as if he's describing the actions of a different administration. He's the vice president of the United States of America, he's not just some commentator online. "There has to be a reckoning of the fact that this is a war that they started. It's a war that they can end. "If they think it was part of their political demise, then why don't they actually start to take some action to reflect that?"