A day after Democrats won back control of Congress, President Donald Trump largely skirted talk about the Republican Party’s election night performance. He instead boasted about the White House ballroom construction — though when asked, said he didn’t regret starting a war in Iran.

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Still, the GOP is reeling. The president’s party almost always loses ground in midterms, but Trump’s policies in the past two years — from tariffs, cuts to Medicaid and food stamps, as well as Iran — offered few promising angles for reversing that curse.

NBC News spoke to more than 50 people close to the Trump campaign who detailed the plans and missteps that set the stage for a shocking upheaval.

Despite bleak poll findings in late August that showed voters were most concerned about the economy, Trump took to the campaign trail with a familiar and fateful message: “Pretend I’m on the ballot.” There was no course correction on policy, no bow to the frustrations voters felt.

And in primary contests nationwide, Trump threw his support behind candidates who would end up losing. He urged South Carolina Sen. Darline Graham to run for a full term despite questions about her qualifications. And he endorsed Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton for Senate, setting off a “total, major freakout,” one Republican said.

As Republicans pointed fingers at one another, Democrats coalesced around their nominees.

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More election news:

• Mississippi’s Senate race is headed to an extended vote count, with less than 100 votes separating Democrat Scott Colom and GOP Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith.

• See the 2026 blue wave in three maps.

• House Speaker Mike Johnson said he won’t stay on as Republican leader in the new Congress.

• For subscribers: Republicans redrew more than a dozen districts in an aggressive attempt to shore up their House majority. But Democrats may actually come out ahead.

• For subscribers: Even before the election, Trump’s White House was quietly preparing for Democratic investigations.

• For subscribers: Vice President JD Vance began to put some distance between himself and Trump as he weighs whether to run for the White House in 2028.

• For subscribers: Speaking of 2028, new Democratic governors and senators will soon take over in five of the six states that lead the party’s presidential primary calendar — and those leaders’ endorsements could make all the difference.

• For subscribers: One of Trump’s biggest legacies will be his judicial appointments, but he’ll likely struggle in the final years of his term to appoint new judges — including any potential Supreme Court nominee.

Democrats won on affordability. What happens next?

After more than 80% of midterm voters said they were worried about the price of necessities, a “blue tsunami” came through for Democrats who pledged to make life more affordable. Now comes the daunting task of turning this promise into a reality.

Congressional Democrats will have several policies they can pursue to push down consumer costs — assuming they make it past Trump, who has the power to veto any legislation Congress passes. Incoming leaders, including Michigan’s Abdul El-Sayed and Texas’ James Talarico, and party mainstays, like Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, have pushed ideas such as Medicare for All, free preschool and reversing Republican cuts to healthcare.

But Trump’s own policies — and Republicans’ lackluster midterm results — serve as a cautionary tale for Democrats as they attempt to address affordability.

What Dems are saying about affordability.

Elon Musk faces a new crop of Democratic lawmakers

In recent years, Elon Musk has moved his home and businesses, SpaceX and Tesla, from California to Texas in a bid to avoid Democratic regulators and left-wing policies. Now, he’s surrounded again, despite $168 million worth of campaign donations to Republicans.

Already, incoming Texas Attorney General Nathan Johnson, a Democrat, has pledged to investigate the world’s richest man. “He’s demonstrated his interest in pay-to-play,” Johnson said in an interview with NBC News. “He’s demonstrated interest in exerting control over public power through his own wealth and his own commercial interests.”

Democrats Gina Hinojosa, the projected winner in the governor’s race, and James Talarico, who won a Senate seat, also called out Musk on the campaign trail. The attitude in Texas may prove to be a dress rehearsal of what awaits him in Washington next year.

More on Musk’s relationships with Trump-aligned Republicans.

More Texas election analysis:

• For subscribers: The state Attorney General’s Office has been at the forefront of nationwide legal fights in line with the Trump administration or challenging Democratic policies. That will end in January.

• For subscribers: Fury over Republicans’ handling of education — from private school vouchers and book bans to crackdowns on academic freedom on college campuses — helped fuel Democratic sweeps in the state, advocates say.

Trump is discussing possible Hegseth replacements, sources say

Trump has told some allies that he’s considering replacing Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, according to two people familiar with the discussions. Some of Hegseth’s upcoming travel was put on hold, sources said, and he was one of the few members of Trump’s Cabinet who were not in the White House East Room to watch the election results this week.

Two sources said the change could be over a potential resumption of major military action in Iran, or it could be related to post-midterm politics. But Trump said yesterday that he is not planning to replace Hegseth.

Why members of Congress are frustrated with Hegseth.

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• Bomb threats disrupted passenger flights across Europe, forcing at least one to make an emergency landing at a French Air Force base today.