President Trump offered a muted response to Tuesday's midterm results, telling reporters he was "a little bit surprised" by the scale of Democrats' sweep of Congress and that he "thought we'd do better," according to a live NBC News report from overnight coverage of the race.

Trump said he would veto any legislation Democrats send him once Hakeem Jeffries takes over as House speaker and Democrats seat a majority in the Senate in January, setting up two years of near-certain gridlock between the White House and Capitol Hill.

Thune Vows to Dig In

Senate Republican Leader John Thune, who is set to become minority leader, said his caucus would still work with Trump to try to stop the incoming Democratic majority's agenda "at every turn," signaling that Republicans intend to use the filibuster and other procedural tools aggressively despite losing their majority.

"I THOUGHT WE'D DO BETTER" — PRESIDENT TRUMP, ON THE MIDTERM RESULTS

Elon Musk, who has remained a visible Trump ally, reacted to the losses on X with a joke about building "data centers in space," a quip that circulated widely online even as allies privately described the results as a wake-up call ahead of 2028.

Not all Republicans accepted the losses quietly. In Michigan, GOP Senate candidate Mike Rogers declined to concede his race, telling supporters there was still "a path for us to win this thing" as votes continued to be counted. Several contests, including Senate races in Alaska and Mississippi, remained too close to call Wednesday morning.

With divided government now set for 2027, both parties are bracing for a bruising fight over spending bills, judicial nominations and oversight investigations in the new Congress.