Election 2026 live results: Trump defends Iran war after Vance blames it for GOP losses

President Donald Trump, speaking publicly for the first time Wednesday following Republicans' significant midterm election losses, touted the construction of the White House ballroom from inside the space -- as well as other construction projects around Washington.

The president and Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum signed a beam that workers attached to a chain and lifted in the ballroom.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis described Tuesday's election results, which saw Democrats make massive gains in states including Texas, Iowa and South Carolina, as a "meteor strike," arguing that even a “wave” fails to capture the scale of the Republican losses.

“Last night, we witnessed, to call it a wave, I don't think would be fully accurate. It's the political equivalent of a meteor strike that went all around the United States, blue states, red states, everything in between, and the one state that was able to hold the line and withstand that is right here in the free state of Florida,” DeSantis said Wednesday in Florida.

DeSantis touted Republican candidates' success in Florida, but victory margins in many races were much closer than in previous years, as the Florida governor mentioned later on in his remarks.

DeSantis, who has not ruled out another presidential run, did not mince his words about last night’s election results for Republicans across the country, calling it a “close to an extinction-level event” for the party.

“Let's just be clear about what happened last night. This is close to an extinction-level event for Republicans in many parts of the country, as we have seen, probably in the last 100 years," he said.

-ABC News Hannah Demissie

Republican Rep. Steve Scalise formally launched his bid to serve as House minority leader, according to a letter sent to colleagues on Wednesday.

"Last night’s election was far worse than any of us expected. We fought hard and left it all on the field, but clearly, we were unable to defy history. Despite all we accomplished together, we will now find ourselves in the minority along with losing some incredible friends and public servants. This is no doubt a challenging time for our conference, but overcoming adversity is nothing new to me,” Scalise wrote in a five-page letter.

Scalise said House Republicans “must be the first in line of defense in this crucial battle” against the Democrats.

“We must fight like our way of life depends on it -- because it does,” Scalise wrote.

Scalise said he is “ready” to lead the conference and “chart our path back to the majority.”

House Speaker Mike Johnson said Wednesday that he would not run for House minority leader.

Scalise will run against GOP Rep. Jim Jordan, who announced he would run to lead the conference earlier Wednesday.

-ABC News' Lauren Peller

The 2026 midterm elections resulted in a number of historic firsts, particularly for female candidates running for governor and in U.S. House and Senate races.

Across the country, voters in 17 states elected a female governor on Tuesday, setting a new record, according to Rutgers University's Center for American Women and Politics.

In Georgia, Democratic candidate Keisha Lance Bottoms is projected to win, making her the state's first-ever female governor and the nation's first-ever Black female governor. In Tennessee, Republican Sen. Marsha Blackburn's projected win will make her the first woman to win a gubernatorial race in the state, while Democrat Amy Acton's projected win will make her the first woman elected governor in Ohio.

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