Democrats continue to stack wins in House as Republicans start blame game after midterm rout

What we covered today

• Blaming the war: As more House races are projected for Democratic candidates, President Donald Trump said today it was “largely true” the Iran war contributed to the GOP shellacking, echoing remarks from Vice President JD Vance.

• Possible target: Many Republican lawmakers and allies are moving swiftly to pin blame for the historic losses on Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. And the House could vote as soon as next week to impeach the Pentagon’s top leader.

• New oversight: Senate Democrats have issued document preservation letters ahead of expected investigations. The Department of Homeland Security is already bracing for an onslaught of congressional oversight efforts, according to current and former officials.

• What we’re still watching: CNN projects that Democrats will win at least 245 House seats. In the Senate, two contests have not yet been called. CNN Sightline rates the Mississippi race as neutral and Alaska as favoring the Democrat.

4 hr 6 min ago

Democrats are still flipping House seats as America waits for the last Senate results

By Taylor Romine and Hanna Park

Bird flies outside the US Capitol on Wednesday.Eric Lee/Reuters

As the day after Election Day starts to wind down, many Americans understand Democrats will hold power in Congress, but are now waiting to see how sizable that control will be.

Results continue to trickle in, with several Democrats flipping House seats across the country and a flip for the GOP. And while there are no final results yet in Mississippi’s Senate race, Democratic candidate Scott Colom told CNN he was feeling “confident.” The emerging majorities are already reshaping Washington’s agenda: Democrats are outlining investigations and promising action on affordability, while Republicans confront divisions over the Iran war and responsibility for their losses.

Here’s what else is going on in the elections space:

• Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth faces mounting pressure as Republican lawmakers and allies are moving to blame him for the party’s historic losses, and the House could vote as soon as next week to impeach him. Florida Gov.-elect Byron Donalds, currently a member of the House, said Wednesday Hegseth is doing his job and he won’t vote to impeach him.
• Rep. Robert Garcia, the incoming House Oversight chairman, said Trump investigations won’t distract Democrats from lowering costs, naming four targets: the Trump family’s businesses, immigration enforcement, corporate donations to the White House ballroom, and the Epstein files.
• Florida Governor Ron DeSantis was critical of many Republican races, telling CNN that voters were “disappointed in the productivity” of Congress and playing the blame game on gas prices.
• Across the party aisle, Democratic Senator-elect Annie Andrews also said the Republican party is “fractured,” with the GOP primary between Rep. Ralph Norman and Sen. Darline Graham being a symbol of that rift.
• New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani attributed Democrats win to focusing on working-class Americans and the issues that matter most to them, including cutting costs and building trust with voters.
• Maryland’s Wes Moore used to hold the title of the only Black governor in the US, but soon he will be joined by four others. He emphasized to CNN the historic election of Georgia’s Keisha Lance Bottoms, who is the first Black woman to hold the office.
• Looking ahead, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich put doubt on Vice President JD Vance leading the party as the presidential nominee in 2028, saying the GOP loss in the midterms, along with several strategies Vance has taken, has made “a good bit of the luster has come off the bloom.”