Election Day arrives with Americans deciding control of Congress for Trump’s final two years: Live updates

Donald Trump speaks at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool on the eve of the midtermsSome polls are open for Tuesday’s crucial midterm elections, which will decide majority control of Congress for the final two years of Donald Trump’s presidency.Democrats are looking to take control of Congress to stall Trump’s agenda. They will need to flip four Senate seats and three House seats to gain a majority. Republicans currently have a majority in both chambers.Trump’s poor approval rating and Americans’ concerns over the high cost of living and war in Iran have been key campaign issues for Democrats. Many states that Trump previously won are seeing tight races for their Senate seat including Alaska, Ohio, Maine, North Carolina, Texas, Kansas and Iowa. In the House, Republicans are on the defense, looking to hold on to battleground districts won by Trump in 2024. The midterms are seen as a referendum on Trump’s second term. The president made his last-ditch effort to appeal to voters Monday, with a speech at the Reflecting Pool in Washington, D.C., that focused more on his renovation projects and less on Election Day.Trump says U.S. will halt $4B in aid to IsraelPresident Donald Trump on Election Day said that the U.S. will halt $4 billion in aid to Israel after discussions with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Trump phoned in to Fox News to share the news, saying that Israel does not need the aid, which had become a Democratic talking point ahead of Election Day. “We give them $4 billion of things and money, and they don’t need it,” Trump said. Isabel Keane3 November 2026 15:14New poll puts Trump's approval rating at 35 percent About one-third of U.S. adults — or 35 percent —approve of how Donald Trump is handling his presidency, according to the latest AP-NORC poll. Trump’s approval rating tends to stay within a narrow range, but has been well below what it was when he took office last year. Meanwhile, 64 percent disapprove of Trump’s handling of the presidency. (AFP/Getty)The same poll found that about three-quarters of U.S. adults say the country’s economy is “poor,” highlighting current concerns about the high cost of living. It also found that Americans have been pessimistic about the country’s direction for several years. About seven in 10 adults say the country is heading in the wrong direction. Democrats and Independents are most likely to feel this way, according to the survey. Isabel Keane3 November 2026 15:10Jon Stewart is so baffled by Trump's midterm closing speech that he walks off setJon Stewart was so perplexed by President Donald Trump’s choice of subject for his final election-eve pitch to voters that he walked off stage.Stewart opened his The Daily Show monologue by playing a clip of the president boasting about his delayed and costly restoration project, where the president called in an aide to hold up a series of photographs depicting corroded pipework and old joints.“I’ve kept every single promise I made, except far more. I’ve actually kept far more promises than I made,” Trump declared in the clip played.Stewart replied. “That is not possible dimensionally in this realm. That, now, dementially, yes, that that may be possible, but not dimensionally.”Ellie Muir has the story. (Comedy Central)Isabel Keane3 November 2026 14:56Republican National Committee Chairman: 'Blue states are terrible' Republican National Committee Chairman Joe Gruters told Fox Business Tuesday morning that “Blue states are terrible.” “They are living in some communist utopia that doesn’t exist. The path to Havana and Beijing and Moscow is not the way to prosperity,” he said. Isabel Keane3 November 2026 14:41Several states may elect first female governorsWith this year’s midterm election, several states may elect their first-ever female governor. In Georgia, Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms is running as not only the state’s first female governor, but also the first Black female governor in the country. “I wake up as a Black woman every day, so it’s no surprise to me that I’m capable and I’m qualified and I’m able,” Bottoms told CNN. “But if it’s representation for other people who may not have thought it was possible, then it’s all worth it.” Minnesota may also see its first female governor elected, as Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar polls ahead of her Republican opponent, state House Speaker Lisa Demuth. Tennessee is also set to elect its first female governor, as Republican Sen. Marsha Blackburn currently leads over Democrat Jerri Green. Isabel Keane3 November 2026 14:25Justice Department sends 1,000 election monitors to pollsThe Justice Department announced on Tuesday that it is sending about 1,000 federal election monitors to all 50 states to monitor Election Day voting. The department said its monitors will solely observe and not interfere with voting. Isabel Keane3 November 2026 14:11Trump shares 'final pitch' to voters President Donald Trump was asked to share his “final pitch” to voters on Fox & Friends Tuesday morning. “Well, we have to keep America great,” the president said. “We’re great now; we were terrible two years ago. We were a laughing stock all over the world.” Trump later added: “We’re hot now, we’re the hottest country in the world.”Isabel Keane3 November 2026 14:08DeSantis urges Republicans not to 'gaslight' voters about gas prices Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis encouraged Republicans to be honest about why the cost of gas has gone up — instead of trying to blame former President Joe Biden. “Gas is higher and it hurts people, working-class people,” he told commentator Stephen A. Smith in an interview. “And it’s higher because of this conflict.” “That’s just a fact. If you can’t admit that to voters, then you’re gaslighting them and they’re not going to listen to you on other things.” (Getty)Isabel Keane3 November 2026 14:04Voters hit the polls in battleground state Iowa (Getty)(Getty)(Getty)Isabel Keane3 November 2026 13:46Millions will vote in new congressional districtsMillions of Americans are set to vote in new congressional districts this Election Day.The change comes as a result of redistricting, which has changed the boundaries of about one-third of congressional districts, meaning the congressional map for 2026 looks different than the one used in 2024.Even as a third of the nation’s districts were redrawn, the national House map only shifted slightly toward Republicans, according to an Associated Press analysis. Isabel Keane3 November 2026 13:27