Democrats projected to win US Senate and House in midterm setback for Trump

NBC News and CBS News projected that Democrats would win the Senate as well as the House of Representatives. Dutch news agency ANP also reported that ABC News and CNN had called the Senate for Democrats. The projections are not certified results, and some races remain undecided.

Republicans went into Tuesday’s election with a 53–47 advantage in the Senate, where 35 of the 100 seats were on the ballot. Among the Democrats’ projected gains were Iowa and Texas, where Josh Turek and James Talarico won their races, according to CBS.

In Maine, Republican senator Susan Collins conceded to Democrat Troy Jackson, whom both NBC and CBS projected as the winner. CBS said it had not yet projected a winner in the Michigan Senate race.

Control of the Senate would give Democrats the ability to block Trump’s nominees for cabinet posts and federal judgeships. A House majority would also give them investigative powers. But under the Senate’s filibuster rules, most legislation generally requires 60 votes to end debate, so Republicans could still block bills without cross-party support.

Trump told Fox News he was “a little bit surprised” by the Republican losses. He said he intended to work with Democrats but also pointed to his power to veto legislation.