Harris to give concession speech at 4pm EST – reports
Kamala Harris’s concession speech, originally expected at 6pm EST, will now take place earlier at 4pm EST at Howard University, her alma mater, according to multiple reports.
Key events
Mitch McConnell, the outgoing Republican Senate minority leader, has told reporters it is “certainly a happy day for the GOP”.
McConnell congratulated Donald Trump on his election victory, which he credited the Trump campaign for running a “smarter operation” than when they lost in 2020.
“If you’re looking for a simple answer, I think it was a referendum on the current administration, in part,” he said.
“People were just not happy with this administration and the Democratic nominee was a part of it.”
McConnell also posted to X to say that “one of the most gratifying results” of the election is that “the filibuster will stand.”
“The filibuster will stand.”
— Outgoing Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell predicts the incoming Senate GOP majority will “control the guardrails” of institutional change that some Democrats hoped to achieve. pic.twitter.com/lQKPBD1Hbk
— The Recount (@therecount) November 6, 2024
The head of the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency has praised the work of state and local election officials and poll workers on election day.
“As we have said repeatedly, our election infrastructure has never been more secure and the election community never better prepared to deliver safe, secure, free, and fair elections for the American people,” Jen Easterly said in a statement, the Associated Press reported.
“This is what we saw yesterday in the peaceful and secure exercise of democracy.”
Jeff Bezos congratulates Trump on ‘extraordinary political comeback’
Jeff Bezos, the multibillionaire founder of Amazon and owner of the Washington Post, has offered his “big congratulations” to Donald Trump on an “extraordinary political comeback and decisive victory”.
“No nation has bigger opportunities,” Bezos wrote in a post on X, adding that he wished Trump “all success in leading and uniting the America we all love”.
Bezos has faced intense criticism in recent weeks after his newspaper prevented its editorial team from publishing an endorsement of Kamala Harris.
The decision not to endorse has rocked the paper and seen newsroom unrest, resignations from its editorial board and the loss of hundreds of thousands of subscribers.
Kemi Badenoch, the UK Conservative leader, made jibes about Labour’s view of Donald Trump in her first prime minister’s questions as opposition leader on Wednesday.
Badenoch questioned the prime minister, Keir Starmer, on his commitment to protect Britain’s “special relationship” with the US, and asked him about comments made by the foreign secretary, David Lammy, about Trump.
“The prime minister did not distance himself from the remarks made by the foreign secretary, and I’m very sure that President Trump will soon be calling to thank him for sending all of those north London Labour activists to campaign for his opponent,” Badenoch said.
Starmer assured the Commons he would work with Trump on issues of mutual interest, but did not directly answer Badenoch’s questions.
The UK prime minister, Keir Starmer, has not yet spoken to Donald Trump after his election victory but looks forward to doing so “in due course”, Downing Street said.
Starmer “knows first-hand how busy the first couple of days are after winning an election”, his spokesperson said.
The UK leader “would welcome” a visit by Trump to parliament but parliamentary matters are “for the speaker”, they added.
The newly elected UK Conservative leader, Kemi Badenoch, called on Starmer to invite Trump to address parliament on his next visit to Britain.
House speaker Mike Johnson predicts Republicans will keep control of House
Mike Johnson, the Republican House speaker, has predicted that the party will keep its majority in the House, which would give Republicans full control of the government – although that race has not yet been called.
Johnson hailed a “historic” election and said Republicans are “poised to have unified government in the White House, Senate, and House”.
“We will continue to monitor the results and ensure every legal ballot is counted throughout this process,” Johnson wrote.
“I look forward to working with President Trump and a Republican Senate to deliver as Speaker of the House on the mandate entrusted to us by the American people.”
My statement on the latest results for the U.S. House:
This historic election has proven that a majority of Americans are eager for secure borders, lower costs, peace through strength, and a return to common sense. As more results come in it is clear that, as we have predicted…
— Mike Johnson (@MikeJohnson) November 6, 2024
Ukraine was plunged into gloom and uncertainty after Donald Trump’s victory amid expectations that he is likely to end US military assistance while the Kremlin said its aim of subjugating its neighbor remained unchanged.
The consequences for Ukraine of Trump’s second presidency are likely to be difficult, at a time when Russia is advancing on the battlefield at the quickest rate since 2022.
Without US military assistance, Ukraine stands to lose further ground in Donetsk oblast, the scene of fierce fighting since Vladimir Putin’s full-scale invasion nearly three years ago, as well as in many other frontline areas.
Trump once boasted he could end the decade-long Russo-Ukrainian war in “24 hours”. His future vice-president, JD Vance, is an outspoken Kyiv sceptic who has said he “does not really care what happens to Ukraine, one way or another”.
Trump’s aides have previously sketched out a possible “peace deal”. It would involve giving Ukraine’s eastern regions to Russia, with the existing frontline frozen, as well as Crimea, seized in 2014. Russia controls about 20% of Ukraine’s territory.
In an interview with the Guardian in May, Zelenskyy made clear that formula was unacceptable. Nor would he be willing to accept a Russian “ultimatum” that forced Ukraine to abandon integration with Europe and future membership of Nato, he said.
Zelenskyy acknowledged that a re-elected Trump could, if he wanted to, impose a military defeat on his country. “Ukraine, barehanded, without weapons, will not be able to fight a multimillion [Russian] army,” he admitted.
Former president George W Bush congratulates Trump
Former president George W Bush has issued a statement congratulating Donald Trump on his victory.
“I congratulate President Trump on his election as 47th president of the United States of America, as well as vice-president-elect JD Vance and their families,” he said. He also thanked Joe Biden and Kamala Harris for their “service to our country”.
Bush noted that election turnout was “a sign of the health of our republic and the strength of our democratic institutions”.
He said that he and his wife, Laura, “join our fellow citizens in praying for the success of our new leaders at all levels of government”.
Bush remained notably silent on the 2024 race, while his former vice-president, Dick Cheney, and daughter, Barbara Bush, endorsed Harris.
Harris to give concession speech at 4pm EST – reports
Kamala Harris’s concession speech, originally expected at 6pm EST, will now take place earlier at 4pm EST at Howard University, her alma mater, according to multiple reports.
Rachel Leingang
As Arizonans are waking up, they’re seeing a mixed picture of results – and still waiting for a big chunk of ballots to be counted that could sway many outstanding races.
In Maricopa county alone, there are an estimated 700,000 ballots left to count.
Donald Trump now leads the state with nearly 52% of the vote, a lead that will probably hold. But Democratic US Senate candidate Ruben Gallego also has the lead over Trump ally Kari Lake, though by a narrower margin of about 61,000 votes.
Two US House seats are within 5,000 votes: incumbent Republican David Schweikert has the edge in congressional district one, while Democratic contender Kirsten Engel is ahead over incumbent Juan Ciscomani in in the sixth district.
And on ballot measures, voters overwhelmingly approved a measure to enshrine access to abortion in the state constitution while also approving a measure to allow the state to police immigration.
Several key legislative races are still very close (one Democratic state senate candidate leads by just 38 votes right now), leaving it possible that Democrats could flip a chamber.
Sam Levine
Reporting from Scranton, Pennsylvania:
In downtown Scranton, two women who declined to give their full names were chatting about the election during a cigarette break Wednesday morning.
One of the women, Suzanne S, said she had voted for Donald Trump but was surprised he had done so well in Scranton because there was heavy support for Kamala Harris in the city.
She voted for Trump, saying he was “bold” and “brazen.” “Does he say things that he shouldn’t say? Absolutely,” she said. “He also says things that a lot of us just say behind closed doors that aren’t being recorded.”
She started to go on before taking a long pause and saying “I don’t know if I should say this.”
“The whole transgender movement and stuff I don’t agree with,” she said. “My daughter has worked very hard to become a level 10 Olympic gymnast. No man should be competing against her. No man should walk into the bathroom that she’s in.”
The other woman, Danielle D, said she wasn’t surprised by the election results. “It’s just the order of things – they’re not ready for a woman president,” she said.
She added that she hoped the fact that America had elected someone with a felony conviction would cause people to rethink broader restrictions on hiring those with felonies for work.
