Live: Democrats take control of Congress as US voters inflict defeat on Trump

Thu 5 Nov 2026 at 3:08amThu 5 Nov 2026 at 3:08amJD Vance blames Democrat election defeat on warUS Vice-President JD Vance has made his first comments since voters went to the polls, blaming the Iran war for the "blue tsunami".US Vice President JD Vance during a campaign rally. (Reuters: Tom Brenner)"The real reason we lost is obvious to almost everyone," he posted on X."The reason we lost is the war."The president himself said so last night.He said the other reasons included cost of living, the US relationship with Israel and needing to put America first.He went on to say that Republicans should be "p***** at the results"."Let’s take that anger and get back to the work of saving our country," he wrote.Thu 5 Nov 2026 at 2:42amThu 5 Nov 2026 at 2:42amMike Johnson not seeking GOP minority leadership in House - reportsThe current US House Speaker, Republican Mike Johnson, is understood to be not seeking to stay on as his party's chief representative in the US House.He announced his decision to staff on Wednesday morning, the day after a massive repudiation of his party by voters, according to multiple news outlets, including Reuters.As the Democrats have won a majority in the US House of Representatives, whoever takes over for the Republicans would become the US minority leader.US House Speaker Mike Johnson. (Reuters: Kevin Bartram)Johnson has been one of Donald Trump's biggest and highest profile backers since taking up the speaker's post three years ago.He has also had to maintain party discipline given the Republicans only had a narrow 218-214 majority in the House of Representatives.An internal party election for House minority leader is expected later this week.Thu 5 Nov 2026 at 2:22amThu 5 Nov 2026 at 2:22amWhat are the markets doing?Most of the US stock market is rallying this morning.About 20 minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 2.3 per cent, the broad-based S&P 500 gained 1.7 per cent while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 2.2 per cent.Some of the early financial winners from the election appear to be solar-power companies with Elon Musk and Trump's social media company some of the biggest losers.Shares of Elon Musk-led SpaceX and Tesla fell decisively in early trading on Wednesday after Democrats dominated US midterm elections and defeated candidates favoured by Musk.SpaceX was down 2.1 per cent and Tesla 4 per cent after 20 minutes of trading.Musk donated nearly half a billion US dollars to Republican political efforts, including heavy amounts in Texas where Democrats scored historic wins.Stocks worldwide got a boost from easing oil prices while the US dollar weakened against most currencies.Thu 5 Nov 2026 at 2:22amThu 5 Nov 2026 at 2:22amEU wants new US congress to help end Ukraine warThe European Union's foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas hopes the new US Congress will support Ukraine and ramp up pressure on Russia.European Commission Vice-President Kaja Kallas. (Reuters: Yves Herman)"US voters have made their choice clear," she said from Brussels.She went on to add that Europe and the US were "much stronger together" in pressuring Moscow to end the war.Thu 5 Nov 2026 at 2:22amThu 5 Nov 2026 at 2:22amGood morning!Hello and welcome to our continuing coverage of the US midterm elections.We're keeping a close eye on the still too-close-to-call Senate races in Alaska and Mississippi.Overnight, we've also seen world leaders react to the results and giving their thoughts on what that could mean for wars in Iran and Ukraine - and, of course, the cost of living crisis.Stay with us as we bring you the results and reaction throughout the day.