Two days after President-elect Trump’s resounding victory, President Biden addressed the nation on the results of the election and Vice President Harris’s campaign.
He also reiterated his intention to transfer power peacefully.
“I will do my duty as president, I will fulfill my oath, I will honor the Constitution. On Jan. 20, we will have a peaceful transition of power here in America,” he said.
Meanwhile, Republicans are putting the wheels in motion to take power come January, both at the White House and in Congress.
A majority in the Senate, possibly a commanding one, will strengthen Trump’s hand in enacting his agenda. But first, the leadership of that chamber will come up for a vote, and the competition between John Thune (R-S.D.) and John Cornyn (R-Texas) is reaching fever pitch.
Control of the House remains undecided, but that has not stopped House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and his leadership team from asking for his conference’s support to stay in power.
Follow along here all day for postelection updates.
White House cites ‘global headwinds’ in election defeat
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre argued Tuesday’s election result is partly the result of “global headwinds” that have impacted incumbent leaders around the world when asked whether President Biden feels any responsibility for the vice president’s loss.
“Despite all of the accomplishments that we were able to get done, there were global headwinds because of the COVID-19 pandemic,” Jean-Pierre told reporters, citing supply chain issues specifically. “And it had a political toll on many incumbents. If you look at what happened in 2024 globally. And that’s part of what you saw.”
Jean-Pierre did not directly respond to questions about whether Biden, who announced in late July he would not seek reelection, personally felt responsibility for the result.
Casey campaign: Votes are still being counted
Sen. Bob Casey’s (D-Pa.) campaign said in a statement posted to social media Thursday morning that votes are still being counted in his reelection race.
“The count in Pennsylvania is still continuing,” Casey campaign spokesperson Maddy McDaniel said in the statement on the social platform X. “Yesterday, the vote margin shrunk by 50,000 votes and this race is now within half a point, the threshold for automatic recounts in Pennsylvania.”
“With tens of thousands more votes to be counted, we are committed to ensuring every Pennsylvanian’s vote is heard and confident that at the end of that process, Senator Casey will be re-elected.”
Trump Jr. weighs in on father’s potential Cabinet
Donald Trump Jr. said he wants people who “don’t think they know better” than his father, President-elect Trump, to be a part of the Republican administration.
“I’m going to be heavily involved on the transition. I want to make sure now that we know who the real players are, the people who will actually deliver on the president’s message, the people who don’t think that they know better than the duly elected president of the United States,” Trump Jr. said during his Thursday morning appearance on “Fox & Friends.”
“I want to make sure that those people are in his Cabinet. I want to make sure that those people are in this administration,” he added.
Jeffries congratulates Trump, says Democrats are not party of ‘election denial’
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), a fierce critic of President-elect Trump, congratulated him Thursday, emphasizing that Democrats respect the will of the voters and won’t challenge the results.
“The American people have spoken,” Jeffries said in a statement. “I congratulate President-elect Donald J. Trump.”
The brief statement, issued two days after Trump and the Republicans routed Democrats at the polls, did not mention the 2020 election or the GOP’s efforts to deny President Biden’s victory and keep Trump in office that cycle.
But Jeffries’s emphasis on accepting election outcomes, even in defeat, was a clear shot at Trump and some of his allies in Congress for their refusal, even today, to assert that Trump lost the contest four years ago.
“I am proud that the Democratic Party does not believe in election denial,” Jeffries said. “Our Democracy is precious and it involves elevating public trust in our system of free and fair elections, not undermining it.”
Haley says election should be ‘wake-up call’ for the ‘woke’
Former Republican White House candidate Nikki Haley argued the results of this week’s election — in which her former primary rival defeated Vice President Harris — should be a wake-up call for “woke” companies, government official and both Democrats and Republicans.
“I think at the end of the day, this should be a wake-up sign for companies that had gone woke,” Haley said on her Sirius XM show.
“This should be a wake-up sign for government where they got so arrogant they started telling Americans what they should and shouldn’t do. This should be a wake-up call for the Democrat Party that … you don’t need to be leaning left, you need to be coming closer to the center,” she added.
The former South Carolina governor had been sharply critical of President-elect Trump on the campaign trail. After she dropped out, it was questioned if she would support him, though she eventually endorsed Trump and supported his candidacy.
Carville calls Trump victory ‘depressing’
Democratic veteran strategist James Carville discussed the results of the 2024 White House race Thursday, calling President-elect Trump’s decisive victory “depressing.”
“I have to reevaluate,” Carville said in a video released by Politicon. “I’m sure I’ll come up with something to make me feel good again, but right now, today, it’s hard. I’ll be honest with you.”
“And the hardest thing is that I look across this country, and tens of millions of people fell for this s‑‑‑, and it’s depressing,” he added.
Battle ignited among Dems on economy
Vice President Harris’s searing loss has exposed Democratic divisions, with leading progressives arguing their party lost its voice and failed to offer a message that resonated with working-class voters who abandoned the party.
They say Harris and the party at large lost their voice on the economy, the most important issue in the fight with Trump.
While the Republican offered simple messages that appeared to resonate with the electorate — tariffs, tariffs, tariffs coupled with a message that President Biden and Harris had broken the economy and Trump would fix it — Harris’s message was muddled.
Read the full story here.
GOP leaders express confidence they’ll control House on ‘positive vibes’ call
House Republican leaders expressed confidence that they will control the lower chamber next year during a private conference call on Thursday, even as some races remain too close to call.
That sentiment was conveyed by Rep. Richard Hudson (R-N.C.), the chair of the National Republican Congressional Committee, who ticked through a number of races on the call, a source told The Hill. A second source described the call as “an overview of the outstanding races.”
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) praised Hudson, the source said, and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) offered thanks and praise to various individuals. He also noted that the conference picked up seats in Michigan and Pennsylvania.
Ritchie Torres critiques Dems
Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.) launched a postelection critique of progressive Democrats, claiming they helped President-elect Trump win a second White House term.
Torres, who overwhelmingly won his reelection bid in the 15th Congressional District, criticized the “far-left” of his party for what he sees as contributing to Vice President Harris’s loss on Tuesday and sending Trump back in to office.
He held progressives responsible for promoting slogans he said pushed key voting groups apart during an already divisive election. Such buzzwords, he argued, chipped away at core parts of the Democratic coalition.
Full story here
Scoop: Who does RFK Jr. want as secretary of State?
Not Marco Rubio.
The Hill’s Hanna Trudo scoops this:
“RFK Jr. does not want Sen. Marco Rubio to be nominated for Secretary of State, I’m told by source, who says: ‘He will be advocating for someone who is less neocon.'”
Biden praises Harris, her campaign
President Biden also praised Vice President Harris for her campaign, calling her a partner and public servant and said Americans got to see her “great character.”
“She gave her whole heart and effort,” Biden said.
Read the full story on his speech here.
Biden begins remarks
The president arrived in the Rose Garden to speak about the election results just before 11:30 a.m.
“We accept the choice the country made,” Biden said. “I’ve said many times: You can’t love your country only when you win.”
Several Cabinet officials were among those in the crowd to watch, including Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, Education Secretary Miguel Cardona and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack.
Biden arrives in Rose Garden
President Biden has welcomed his Cabinet, staff and others to the Rose Garden, where he was greeted with cheers and applause.
Biden to speak at 11 a.m.
The president will make his first public comments on the election from the White House Rose Garden at 11 a.m. EST. Watch it live, here.
Miller-Meeks wins reelection in Iowa race
Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R) will hold on to her seat in Iowa’s 1st Congressional District, Decision Desk HQ projects.
The race was a rematch against Democrat Christina Bohannan, who lost out by about 7 points in the midterms. Since then, Miller-Meeks has faced criticism from conservatives in her own party, and Democrats were hopeful that Iowa’s new abortion ban would help drive blue turnout against her.
The House majority has yet to be called, with votes still being counted in key races, but Republicans are considered in better position than Democrats to secure it.
Rosen wins Nevada Senate race
Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.) will retain her seat, according to projections from Decision Desk HQ.
Rosen, who previously served in the House and is a former synagogue president, won another six-year term in the upper chamber in one of the cycle’s key Senate races. She defeated Sam Brown, a retired Army captain and Purple Heart recipient.