Earlier we reported that Vice President JD Vance made a lengthy statement on social media blaming the Iran war for Republicans' sweeping election losses yesterday.

Trump is now asked about that statement.

"It's largely true," Trump says. "It drove the gasoline up a little bit, short term."

But, he says on the war that he would have done the same thing again. He adds that it was gas prices that were upsetting to voters, not the war itself.

Trump is now taking questions from members of the media, who ask whether he has any regrets about how he closed out the midterms campaign.

He replies by saying, "if I was on the ballot, we would have won".

He adds that the Republican Party couldn't transfer the "love" at his campaign rallies to the candidates on the ballots.

"That was tremendous love, it was pretty amazing," he says.

Image source, Getty Images

Trump didn't touch much on politics or the midterms in his speech from the White House ballroom, but he did take a moment to tout what he sees as his administration's successes.

"Zero illegal migrants have been allowed into our country," the president says, then circling back quickly to the ballroom project.

The structure, which is slated to be larger than the White House itself, "will be one of the great buildings in Washington D.C", he says.

He describes working with construction as relaxing.

"The White House is the ultimate symbol of America," he says. "It's gotta be perfect."

He is now taking questions from media.

Image source, Getty Images

"It's been a dream for a president to have a ballroom," Trump says. He then describes the integrity of the steel structure and the marble used in the construction.

Trump has placed great emphasis on the ballroom, along with other local beautification projects in DC, during his first year.

His final message before the midterm elections occurred by the Lincoln memorial reflecting pool, where he used a series of images to showcase the pool's new pipes and lining.

"We've made DC... beautiful, and everyone is talking about it," he says.

Trump appears intent on moving on from midterms defeatpublished at 18:02 GMT

18:02 GMT

Daniel Bush
Washington correspondent

It might seem strange that President Trump chose the under-construction White House ballroom as the venue for his first public remarks after last night’s election.

But it fits with a long history of Trump trying to redirect media attention away from negative headlines and controversies.

With this event, Trump appears intent on moving on from his party's stunning midterm defeat. But it’s highly unlikely that focusing on the ballroom will draw attention away from the Democratic victories in the House and Senate.

The appearance mirrors Trump’s speech Monday at the Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool, and underscores Trump’s continued focus on his own legacy and overhaul of Washington at a time when voters demonstrated that they’re more concerned about the economy, rising costs, and war with Iran.

Image source, Getty Images

Trump isn't directly addressing the Republicans' losses.

He's speaking at the White House ballroom construction site, discussing renovations at the White House and in Washington DC.

The ballroom has been a focus of Trump's second term in office.

"I grew up on construction sites," he tells the crowd.

He's explaining the materials used to construct the beams, walls and ceilings.

Trump is speaking at the White House for the first time since Democrats took back Congress last night.

We'll be following along and bring you the key lines here - you can also watch live above.

Rebecka Pieder
Reporting from Washington DC

As we've reported, JD Vance says he blames Republicans' resounding elections loss on the war with Iran.

The war has led to a sharp increase in costs for Americans, not least at the gas pump.

Trump had promised when campaigning for a second term in 2024 to get gasoline prices below $2 (£1.48) a gallon. The average price in October was $4.31 (£3.19) a gallon. He also promised there would be no new wars if he returned to the White House.

But the day before the midterm elections, the US launched fresh strikes on an Iranian island and Trump told reporters he had no regrets in starting the war.

In reaction to the midterm elections results, Iran's chief negotiator in talks with the US has said that Americans have "said NO TO WAR."

But Iran's Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, said in a statement he did not expect US policy to change after the results.

Speaking to the BBC's US news partner, CBS News, Trump said today that the conflict would end "when I say it ends".

Ghoncheh Habibiazad
Senior reporter, BBC Persian

The US and Israel attacked Iran on 28 February and killed the country's Supreme Leader in strikes on his compound the same day.

The strikes by all sides involved, though, did not end on the same day. Iran retaliated by targeting locations such as US bases in the Middle East, as well as those in Israel.

Despite a ceasefire between Iran and the US in early April, mediated by Pakistan, occasional flare-ups and strikes have continued, mainly in southern Iran and around the strategic Strait of Hormuz.

In the latest example, the US reportedly carried out strikes on Iran's Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz two days ago.

US officials described the strikes as limited and defensive, saying they were carried out in response to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) firing on a US aircraft.

It seems like the main sticking point for now between Iran and the US remains the issue of Hormuz. Iran considers the strategic waterway closed, while the US has also continued its naval blockade.

While there have reportedly been talks and messages through mediators between Iran and the US for months, Iran security chief Mohsen Rezaei said yesterday that Washington's response to Tehran demands were "not convincing".

BBC Monitoring

Image source, Tehran Times

For people in Ukraine, Iran and across the Middle East, the US midterms were less about domestic politics and more about what the result could mean for ongoing conflicts.

In Ukraine, commentators focused on Trump's handling of the war, with journalist Roman Tsymbalyuk quipping the president had "settled every war but lost his own" - a reference to Trump's repeated claims about ending global conflicts.

As Russia continues to attack Ukraine's energy infrastructure, some in Kyiv hope Democratic gains could strengthen support for tougher sanctions on Moscow, while others fear political gridlock in Washington could create fresh uncertainty over Ukraine policy.

In Moscow, the Kremlin publicly expressed hope that Trump would continue efforts to broker an end to the war, with further Russia-Ukraine talks expected this month. But pro-war Russian voices warned that a Democratic-controlled Congress could constrain Trump's ability to deliver any future agreements with the Kremlin or ease sanctions on Russia.

Meanwhile, Iran's leadership and state-linked media portrayed Democratic gains as a public rebuke of Trump's war policy. Parliamentary Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf argued that Americans had "said no to war", while Iranian media highlighted what they described as the growing political cost of military confrontation with Tehran.

Can Trump use his veto to block Democrat laws?published at 17:24 GMT

17:24 GMT

By Tom Edgington

President Donald Trump posted an image of a red baseball cap bearing the word "VETO" following the Democrats' midterm election victory overnight.

He told Fox News that he could send legislation back to Congress "with a nice stamp 'veto' and there's not a thing they can do about that".

It's true presidents have a constitutional power to reject planned laws passed by Congress, but this power isn't absolute.

Under the US Constitution, Congress can normally override vetoes if two-thirds of the House and Senate vote to do so - but the Democrats are short of that and would need Republican support.

That said, one of Trump’s vetoes - over defence spending - was successfully overturned in 2021. But this is rare.

According to Congress, only about 4% of all vetoes have been successfully overturned.

Trump could also continue to use executive orders, which don't require congressional approval.

US politics expert Clodagh Harrington, from University College Cork, tells BBC Verify that Congress doesn't have much sway to override executive orders.

"But they can be challenged in court and that's the more textbook way to prevent them."

Image source, Getty Images

Scott Colom, the Democratic candidate for Mississippi's Senate seat, says he is "very happy" about where the race currently stands.

He tells a news conference: "I'm very confident about where we are and I'm very confident that we're going to win."

At 10:00 ET (15:00 GMT), only 43 votes separated Colom and Republican incumbent Cindy Hyde-Smith for the seat, with 96% of the vote counted, according to AP.

Colom says that those who voted by affidavit ballots - also known as provisional ballots - due to problems such as not having voter ID available will have until 10 November to resolve any issues.

The Democrat's campaign earlier estimated there are 15,000 affidavit ballots that remain to be counted, the BBC's US partner CBS News reports.

The candidate says he does not want to estimate the time it will take for the count to be completed, but wishes to ensure the process is protected.

"We have got lawyers who are ready to make sure that the law is followed," he adds.

Image source, AP

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis says the Republicans have suffered "close to an extinction-level event" following their losses in the midterm elections.

Speaking during a news conference, the outgoing Republican governor says the results will have a "huge" impact and were "probably the political worst case scenario for a midterm election".

He says that keeping the US Senate "would have been a win", even if his party lost two or three seats.

"We knew it could be worse, but I don't think most of us thought it would be quite this bad," he says.

DeSantis adds the party is "in a deep hole nationally because of this election", but emphasises "this was a rejection of Republicans in Washington" and not voters taking a "positive view" of the Democrats.

Image source, EPA/Shutterstock

The US Senate has undergone a "generational remake" that will have "huge consequences for history", the top Democrat in the chamber, Chuck Schumer, says.

Schumer, currently the minority leader in the Senate, says voters told Democrats that they wanted the party to address two primary issues: the cost of living and corruption in government.

"We have an amazing crop of new senators," Schumer says at a press conference in Washington. "What we have now seen is a generational remake of the Senate map that is going to change America."

Schumer says Democrats are also willing to launch investigations into US President Donald Trump.

"Whenever Trump defies the will of the American people or the law, we will launch investigations, take him to court and entangle him in legislative razor wire," he says.

"The days of Trump's supplicant Senate are over."

Asked how far the Democrats will go with investigations, Schumer says they need to take place because "there was such rampant corruption".

"But we're not going to take our eye of the ball," he says. "Number one: Reducing costs, ending corruption."

Grace Eliza Goodwin
US reporter

As we've been reporting, Vice-President JD Vance has shared a lengthy post on social media that gives his take on the Republican defeat in elections.

Here are some key points he made:

• The main problem, Vance says, was not that Republicans didn't turn out to vote - it was that "many people who voted for Trump/Vance in 2024 voted for Democrats in 2026"
• That's partly because "our economic messaging wasn't sharp enough"
• But what those former Trump voters cared most about was for Republicans to end the war in Iran, focus on inflation and the cost of living, put America first, and change the US relationship to Israel, Vance says, pointing to recent polling
• He also says he's open to the idea of changing immigration enforcement by focusing more on businesses that hire illegal labour
• The real reason Republicans lost is the war in Iran, he says, adding that Trump agrees

To those who are upset about the results of the midterms, Vance says: "Let’s take that anger and get back to the work of saving our country."

Vance offers blunt post-mortem on election resultspublished at 16:19 GMT

16:19 GMT

Daniel Bush
Washington correspondent

JD Vance believes the Iran war cost Republicans control of Congress. The vice-president says "the reason we lost is the war", in a lengthy election post-mortem statement that offers an unusually candid assessment of the midterm elections.

Vance acknowledges that the Iran war, rising costs and other issues led Republican voters who backed him and President Donald Trump in 2024 to abandon the party this year.

He also notes that voters took issue with the administration’s immigration agenda, and says he was open to some reforms.

Vance notes that Trump also singled out frustration over the war with Iran last night. Still, the US vice-president was more blunt than Trump after months of backing the war in public.

The statement immediately fuelled interest in Vance’s 2028 plans, as pundits speculate that he used the moment to signal his plans to run for the White House.

Vance has sidestepped that question up until now. But with the midterms in the rear-view mirror, he’ll face growing pressure to announce a decision soon.

US Vice-President JD Vance reacts to Republicans' midterm loss in a lengthy post on X, claiming the US war in Iran was the reason for his party's defeat.

"The reason we lost is the war," he says.

"Everyone knows why we lost," he goes on to say. "And any honest conversation about where we go from here must start there."

Image source, Getty Images

Grace Eliza Goodwin
US reporter

Image source, AFP via Getty Images

It may be weeks before we know the results of Alaska's Senate race - one of the most competitive in the country.

There, incumbent Republican incumbent Dan S Sullivan is running against Democratic candidate Mary Peltola and, in a twist that has stirred controversy, against an independent candidate named Daniel J Sullivan.

The expected delay is partly because Alaska has ranked-choice ballots, where voters can select more than one candidate in order of preference. And if a single candidate doesn't win a clear majority then the state recounts the ballots in a second round with the last-place candidate removed.

On top of that, Alaska allows 10 to 15 days for mailed ballots to be returned to the elections office.

"The results are not going to be fast, but Alaskans are patient," Peltola told supporters on election night.

It could take a while.

Democratic candidate Scott Colom is challenging Republican incumbent Cindy Hyde-Smith for Mississippi's Senate seat.

At 10:00 ET (15:00 GMT), 43 votes separated the two candidates, with 96% of the vote counted, according to AP. The race is still too close to call.

While we may have a result today, it could also take several days for all the votes to be counted.

Read more: Democrat leads by fewer than 50 votes in surprisingly tight Mississippi Senate race

Image source, Reuters

Addressing supporters in Louisiana last night, Republican Speaker of the House of Representatives Mike Johnson said: "Republicans will not be deterred by the outcome of one election. In fact, you know what we do? We double down."

He added that in the 2028 election Republicans would "take back the House and we will finish this job".

While Johnson, 54, won his race to return to the House, this morning he has said he will not run for House minority leader - which will become the top Republican post in the chamber once Democrats take control in January - according to reports.

Johnson has spent three years in the role, having replaced former Speaker Kevin McCarthy in October 2023 after a contentious selection process within the Republican party.

He began his career as a constitutional lawyer, spending close to 20 years in the profession before entering politics.