SOURCE: BBC
US President Donald Trump weighs in on Alaska’s tightly-fought Senate race, as Republican Dan Sullivan trails Democrat Mary Peltola by a razor-thin margin
Trump says that votes for the “Fake Dan Sullivan” – an independent candidate who has the same name as the Republican hopeful – should be given to the Republican candidate
A Trump administration lawsuit to delay certifying results in the race was dismissed by a judge ahead of the election
It comes as a top Democrat says Congress will rein in “an out-of-control executive branch” after his party won control of both houses in the midterm elections
Hakeem Jeffries – likely to be the next Speaker of the House – accuses the “Trump Cartel” of “massive corruption” and adds: “We are going to hold the crooks accountable”
Several results are yet to be called – here’s the current state of play in the Senate and the House
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In the aftermath of the historic rout of Republicans in this week’s midterms, there is plenty to suggest that there’s turmoil in President Donald Trump’s orbit.
Eyes are on Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, with other members of Trump’s team souring on him for allegedly helping propel the administration into an unpopular war in Iran for which the Republicans paid for at the polls.
Trump has acknowledged this, but – at least so far – appears to be standing by Hegseth.
In a telephone interview with ABC News, Trump said that he gets “calls about him” but doesn’t “understand why”.
“I have every intention” of keeping him, Trump added.
Republican Representative Thomas Massie, who is a frequent critic of Trump, says the president should replace Hegseth before a new Congress forms.
“He should do it while he can still get the replacements confirmed in the Senate,” Massie writes on X.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average: up 0.6% (after closing up 3% on Wednesday)
S&P 500: down 0.2%
Nasdaq: down 1%
Some AI and tech stocks continued to fall over concerns that the building of AI data centres could be constrained.
Nvidia shares were down 4.6% and SpaceX shares were down 6.4%, while Intel was down 7%.
Oil prices also rose again after plummeting in response to Vice President JD Vance’s comments on the Iran war, with global oil benchmark Brent crude rising above $97 a barrel. It had fallen by more than 8% on Wednesday, to its lowest level in two months.
Donald Trump is, to a very real extent, a lame-duck president in the next two years of his administration.
But he is far from powerless. For one, he holds veto power over any legislation, and – unless Republicans join them – the Democrats still don’t have the power to override him.
He’s already signalled a willingness to become “Mr Veto”.
Trump is also able to govern by executive action, emergency declarations, direct agencies, and has power over foreign policy. Congress can pass bills to combat these – but each could face his veto.
His power to pardon criminals is untouchable, which may become a politically contentious issue if he preemptively pardons allies ahead of his departure – as Biden did.
The Republican Dan Sullivan
Some more context on the Dan Sullivan saga that Trump just posted about.
The Senate race in Alaska has been marred with controversy because of the appearance of two men named Dan Sullivan on the ballot.
One is the Republican incumbent senator who is current is in an extremely tight race with Democratic candidate Mary Peltola. The other is an independent.
Last week, The New York Times reported allegations that Peltola and Alaska Democrats sought to confuse voters by recruiting the independent Dan Sullivan in order to siphon votes from the Republican Senator Dan Sullivan.
Peltola has denied any knowledge of such a scheme.
The Trump administration took the issue to court, arguing that having two candidates named Dan Sullivan on the ballot could cause “voter confusion”. Trump sought to delay certifying the election results if the Republican candidate lost.
A judge dismissed this legal challenge.
Donald Trump says the votes in the Alaska Senate race for who he calls the “Fake Dan Sullivan” should be given to the “REAL Dan Sullivan” in a post on Truth Social.
Here’s his post in full: “The vote totals for the Fake Dan Sullivan, plus the other “slug” that the Dems put on the Ballot, should be immediately given to the REAL Dan Sullivan, and the Election is over – He easily wins. There is no other fair solution!”
In Alaska, Democratic contender Mary Peltola is leading the incumbent Republican Senator Dan Sullivan by a narrow margin.
Also in the running is an Independent candidate – also named Dan Sullivan. This has prompted a row over possible voter confusion.
The Democrats have scored a resounding win by taking majority control over both chambers of Congress – the House and the Senate – in the US midterm elections.
Democratic leaders are celebrating their electoral success just two years after defeat in the 2024 US general election. House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries has said that Congress will put a “check and balance on an out-of-control executive branch.”
Republicans are in a more reflective mood than their Democratic counterparts. Vice-President JD Vance has pinned the blame for the historic losses on the Iran war, which President Trump conceded was “largely true”.
We’re still waiting on results in several dozen House seats, two Senate races and two gubernatorial contests – here’s a run down.
Votes in two narrow Senate contests are still being counted in Alaska and Mississippi. It’s unclear when those results will be announced.
How did America vote? The results in maps and graphics.
Is Vance trying to distance himself from Trump? Our Washington correspondent takes a closer look.
International reaction has been mixed. Russian media has been speculating on whether the midterm results will impact the peace deal with Ukraine, although the Kremlin has suggested it will pursue its “interests” in the war regardless of US elections.
Beijing’s response was more muted as it strives to keep a stable relationship with Washington ahead of a summit between the two countries later this month.
Stay with us for the latest updates and analysis throughout the day.
The Democratic Party won control of Congress in what’s being described as a “blue wave”
The Democrats have secured victory in the midterm elections – but what comes next?
Not all votes counted
We’re still waiting for the results from two key Senate races and dozens of House and gubernatorial contests.
The two Senate races still uncalled are being tightly fought in Alaska and Mississippi, and all eyes are closely following their outcome.
Once all the results are in we’ll have a fuller picture of the make-up of both chambers of Congress – which will be controlled by the Democrats for the final two years of Donald Trump’s presidency.
When will Democrats take control of Congress?
A batch of newly-elected Democrats will enter Congress in January, but they might encounter some roadblocks.
Though the Democrats will have control of both the Senate and House of Representatives, Republican President Donald Trump still has the power to reject legislation.
What this could mean for Trump
The president has repeatedly reminded the freshly jubilant Democrats that he has the power of the presidential veto.
However, just because some presidential powers are still at Trump’s fingertips it does not mean he retains the political will to use them, writes our North America correspondent.
A top Democrat Hakeem Jeffries – likely to be the next Speaker of the House – has already made clear his intentions within Congress, accusing the “Trump Cartel” of “massive corruption” and vowing: “We are going to hold the crooks accountable.”
A quick update on the races still to be calledpublished at 11:5611:56
Most of the midterm races have declared a winner, but many votes across the US are still being tallied.
In the Senate, two races are still under way, in Alaska and Mississippi.
Two gubernatorial races – those for a state’s governor – are still proceeding in Kansas and Alaska.
And in the House of Representatives, where every seat is being contested, 48 races have yet to be called.
Among the districts still outstanding are:
Colorado 5
Montana 1
New York 17
North Carolina 1
South Carolina 1
Virginia 1
Alaska 1
Arizona 2
Colorado 4
Florida 7
Florida 9
Florida 13
Florida 27
Maine 2
Minnesota 1
New York 21
Ohio 10
Virginia 5
Arizona 1
Arizona 6
Louisiana 6
Tennessee 9
Alaska hasn’t elected a Democratic governor in more than 20 years.
The last one, Tony Knowles, left office in 2002. Now Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins, known as JKT, is about 20 points ahead of his nearest Republican rival, Bernadette Wilson – but still shy of a majority.
If he wins, the 37-year-old former state lawmaker would also become the youngest governor in Alaska’s history.
The only Democrat in a field of four, Kreiss-Tomkins campaigned on lowering power bills by developing natural gas and renewables.
He’s pledged to bring Republicans and independents into his administration, and in the final week of the campaign he picked up an endorsement from Alaska’s Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski.
Over in Alaska, Democratic contender Mary Peltola is leading the incumbent Republican Senator Dan Sullivan by a narrow margin.
Also in the running is an Independent candidate – also named Dan Sullivan. This has prompted a row over possible voter confusion, with the US Department of Justice arguing that the so-called “Decoy Dan” could take support away from the Republican contender.
Peltola became the first Alaska Native elected to the House of Representatives in 2022.
Senator Dan Sullivan has represented Alaska in Congress since 2015 and before that was the state’s attorney general.
When to expect Senate results from the tight race in Mississippi
Day is just breaking in the US – let’s take a quick look back at one race still to be decided.
A tight race is still to be under way in the state of Mississippi, with Democratic candidate Scott Colom ever so slightly ahead of Republican incumbent Cindy Hyde-Smith.
With 95.6% of the vote counted, Colom is 0.1% ahead. If he wins, he’ll be the state’s first Democratic senator for more than 40 years.
Today the Kommersant newspaper predicts that, while he still has a loyal Congress, President Trump “will make active efforts to resolve the Ukraine conflict over the next two months”.
An opinion piece in the paper urged the Russian authorities “to use this window of opportunity to the full”.
But the Kremlin has denied basing its calculations on the domestic political situation in America.
“Ensuring the interests of the Russian Federation regarding Ukraine cannot be indexed to the situation in the United States,” President Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov told me on his daily conference call with journalists.
“Our interests will be ensured in any case. Russia is an absolutely sovereign state.”
According to Kommersant, when Congress switches to Democrat control “the Democrats will redouble efforts to prevent Trump from establishing dialogue with Moscow, demand resumption of direct US military assistance to Kyiv…and propose new sanctions packages against Russia and its main trading partners.”
Today another Russian newspaper, Nezavisimaya Gazeta, suggests that for a peace agreement on Ukraine “November and December will be the optimal time”.
President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov says that President Trump “will continue to pursue his foreign policy” on the Ukraine war despite US Democrats taking control of Congress.
“Everything else, from our point of view, is an internal affair of the United States,” he says.
“Ensuring the interests of the Russian Federation in Ukrainian matters cannot be indexed to the situation in the United States of America”.
Peskov adds that these interests “will be ensured either militarily, by continuing the special military operation, or peacefully, if there is someone in Kiev who shows political will and takes political responsibility.”
Several Russian newspapers this morning had written about “a window of opportunity” for an agreement in November and December.
The honour guard march at the National Day celebration in Taipei last month
Analysts are looking at what a Democrat-controlled Congress could mean for the US’s support for Taiwan.
The US is legally obliged to provide it with the means to defend itself against Chinese threats of annexation, but Trump has been stalling a $14bn (£10.4bn) arms sale for months, despite it being approved by Congress. Trump said after a meeting with China’s leader Xi Jinping in May that the arms sales were a “very good negotiating chip”.
But Drew Thompson, a senior fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies at Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University, suggests post-midterm pressure about the US economy might push Trump to approve the sale.
“I think ultimately he’ll agree to do it, especially if he makes no progress on trade with China,” Thompson tells the BBC. “I think it’s more likely the president will conclude that it’s in his interest and the country’s interest to approve the sale because it is $14bn worth of exports.”
Raymond Kuo, an international security expert specialising on Taiwan, says Congress could also be more emboldened now to hold the Trump administration to its obligations to spend funds the way Congress tells it to.
“Congress has the power of the purse,” says Kuo, adding he’s hopeful that “the Democrats will take advantage of the situation.”
Beijing appears keen to maintain a stable relationship with Washington as President Xi Jinping prepares to meet Donald Trump this month.
China will be aware the White House will continue to wield the greatest influence over US-China relations, regardless of which party controls Congress.
Beijing wants to build a “constructive, strategically stable China-US relationship”, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said at a regular press briefing on Wednesday.
This muted response to the midterms hides both the challenges and opportunities Trump’s crushing loss has for Xi.
Xi and Trump at a state dinner in Washington DC in September
The Chinese leader will be pushing hard for a trade deal with Trump when they meet and the key question being asked by analysts is – could this impact Taiwan?
China has been testing the US and its allies in the South China Sea and is increasingly encroaching in the waters and skies around the self-governing island of Taiwan, which Beijing claims as its own.
Washington is Taipei’s most important security backer and has sold billions of dollars’ worth of arms to Taiwan that the island would use to fend off a potential Chinese attack. Trump has questioned these sales and even claimed they could be used as a bargaining chip in talks with China. He has also delayed $14bn worth of weapons sales to the island.
Could Xi offer Trump an attractive trade deal and in return ask for the US to soften its stance on Taiwan?
It’s worth noting that the Communist Party has also become more savvy when it comes to dealing with Washington.
The government in Beijing knows that making a deal with one White House doesn’t mean it will have the same deal with the next one.
Some analysts believe Xi also won’t want to put too much pressure on an unpredictable US president just in case it backfires.
