Congress Watch · Report · File No. 261109-210
Senate Republicans return furious with Trump, blaming him for midterm losses
GOP senators and aides say Trump's endorsements and message hurt them in last week's election. That anger could loosen his hold on the party in the lame-duck session and the next two years.
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Senate Republicans returned to the Capitol on Monday angry at President Trump. They blame him for last week's big losses in Senate and House races 1. GOP aides and strategists say the anger raises the chances the party pivots away from a lame-duck president (one in his final years in office) before the 2028 presidential election 1.
Many Senate Republicans think the blame for the loss of at least seven seats lies squarely with the unpopular president, The Hill reported 1. One aide said Trump deserves blame for losing seven Senate seats, and maybe as many as nine, plus more than 40 House seats 1. Trump blamed poor Republican candidates 1. He told Fox News, "I don't view it as a hit on me" 2.
Endorsements and message
Republican sources say Trump hurt the party by endorsing weak candidates, such as Ken Paxton in Texas and Darline Graham in South Carolina, and by not sticking to a message 1. Both lost to Democrats 12. Senate Majority Leader John Thune of South Dakota and his team lobbied Trump for months to back Sen. John Cornyn over Paxton in the Texas primary, or to stay neutral. Trump ignored them and endorsed Paxton 1.
Aides also said Trump spent time on fights over the White House ballroom, the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, the Kennedy Center and the East Potomac Park golf course. They said this drowned out the party's tax-cut message 1. They also complained that Trump's allies held back about $400 million until the final weeks, when TV ads cost more 1.
From Channel GOPTrump's 'find 11,780 votes' call played at hearingDonald Trump · 310 plays · captioned, with the source named
The worst of all possible choices
Tensions rose further after Trump announced Friday that Stephen Miller, an immigration hard-liner, will replace Susie Wiles as chief of staff 1. Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina, a sharp Miller critic, called the choice a "colossal mistake" 1. Rep. Marlin Stutzman of Indiana said Miller should be fired, not promoted 1.
Cornyn said Trump misjudged his mandate after the 2024 election. He pointed to capricious tariff decisions that raised prices for millions of Americans 1. Republican candidate John Sununu, who lost in New Hampshire, blamed the unfinished Iran conflict and stories about Trump's family business dealings 1.
What happens next
Pollster Whit Ayres, a Republican, said Trump will remain the party's leader for two years. He also said Senate Republicans are likely to be less deferential 1.
I think his iron grip over the Senate Republicans is likely to be loosened
One senior GOP aide cautioned that Trump is "still a popular figure in the Republican Party" 1. The Hill said the Miller pick may be an effort to keep Trump's base loyal 1. Democrats won at least seven Senate seats, according to coverage of the results 2.
That matters because a Republican Senate that pushes back on Trump could change what moves in the lame-duck session. Fights over tariffs, immigration enforcement and the Iran war all depend on whether GOP senators keep following his lead. The pattern so far is that they have.
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Sources
- The Hill, “Senate Republicans return to Capitol furious with Trump after big losses” (2026-11-09). thehill.com/homenews/senate/6206790-senate-gop-blames-trump-
- WECT (AP), “Trump responds as voters deliver rebuke by flipping key GOP-held Senate seats” (2026-11-04). wect.com/2026/11/04/voters-deliver-rebuke-trump-by-flipping-
Found an error? Tell the newsroom. Corrections are noted at the top of the story.
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