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A seismic political shift is brewing in Washington, D.C., and as Republicans survey the rubble of election night, fingers are pointing in several directions over who is to blame.
Tuesday’s blue tsunami tore apart the Republican coalition, shifting the balance of power in both chambers as the final two years of the Trump administration approach. And while Republicans look for where things went wrong, GOP operatives and insiders told Fox News Digital it starts at the top with President Donald Trump.
“Look, first and foremost, it’s a loss for Trump,” Dan Eberhart, an oil drilling chief executive and prominent Republican donor, told Fox News Digital. “He wanted to be – he wanted people to consider him on the ballot. And unfortunately, as a Republican, that’s what we got.”
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President Donald Trump listens during a campaign rally at the Ocean Center in Daytona Beach, Florida, October 30, 2026. (Jacquelyn Martin/AP)
In the Senate, Democrats scored seven victories on election night, with standout races in Alaska and Mississippi still waiting to be called. And in the House, Democrats returned to power with 27 victories and several races still pending.
The war in Iran, ignoring the economic consequences that are squeezing voters, attacks on incumbent Republicans and more are on the list of grievances of shaken Republicans in the days that followed.
The Senate map, in particular, was at one point favorable to Republicans and seen as an uphill battle for Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Democrats to challenge the GOP’s slim 53-seat majority.
But Trump’s decision to embark on a “primary revenge tour and antagonize senators,” a Republican Party aide told Fox News Digital, among others, opened the field for Democrats to pounce.
Indeed, Trump’s hand-picked candidates have been defeated in races that were once safe bets for Republicans.
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His support for Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, Sen. Darline Graham, R-S.C., and his fight with Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., last year, which ultimately led to his retirement and created an opening for Democrats in the Tar Heel State, proved fatal for the GOP, coupled with stunning losses in Maine, Kansas, Ohio and Iowa, brought to their knees any Republican chances of retaining power at home. upper room.
“Trump completely ignored affordability,” another Republican aide told Fox News Digital. “He ousted good members like Cornyn, Tillis who knew how to win tough races, and poisoned the rank and file’s opinion of our majority with his SAVE Act/filibuster—bullshit.”
“We had a great card and he hijacked it,” they continued.
In the House, where Democrats are on pace to win more than 250 seats, Fox News Power Rankings projects that Trump’s tariffs and the war in Iran were key factors in the bloc’s departure from the Republican Party.
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The United States Capitol in Washington, DC, as seen on November 3, 2026. (Aaron Schwartz/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
One House Republican complained that Republican Party leaders were too focused on “swagger” rather than “getting the job done,” although they did not mention Trump by name.
“All the name changes were so unnecessary – Gulf of America, Lake of America, War Department,” the Republican lawmaker said.
A second House Republican rattled off a long list of shortcomings, including the quality and character of “certain candidates,” Trump’s immigration policies, tariffs, general affordability issues, historic midterm headwinds and “the abandonment of traditional conservatism in favor of populism.”
Meanwhile, people around Trump blamed the candidates themselves.
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Trump’s outside adviser, Alex Bruesewitz, posted on
“I’m not at all surprised by some of these results,” he said.
Meanwhile, some expect a massive shift in Trump’s support base in Congress as he heads into a likely lame duck punctuated by investigations and stalled agendas.
“I think Trump becomes a lame duck as of today,” Eberhart said. “You know, if I’m in the (2028) cycle, I wake up today, I’m against the ark. I’m against the ballroom. I want space from Trump.”
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