Key facts
- Rep. Richard McCormick said many Republicans were angry and pointing fingers over spending, fundraising and messaging.
- Rep. Troy Nehls gave Congress an F and said the American people had a right to be upset with its performance.
- Sen. Josh Hawley said Congress made its priorities what were not the people's priorities.
- Jason Smith, chair of the House Ways and Means Committee, called for delaying GOP leadership elections.
- Rep. Jeff Van Drew blamed high gas prices, the war in Ukraine and a war with Iran.
- Sen. John Cornyn said voters who backed Trump on border security disliked overzealous ICE enforcement.
Republicans returned to Washington on November 9, 2026, after losing both chambers of Congress in the midterm elections, and began airing recriminations over spending, fundraising and messaging.
"There's a lot of pissed off people in there right now," Rep. Richard McCormick (R-Ga.) said, pointing to the House voting chamber. "A lot of people who are pointing fingers. Some of it rightfully so on where the spend was, how we raise money, what the messaging was, where the message came from."
Rep. Troy Nehls (R-Texas) said he would give Congress an F on its report card. "It was a horrible election year," he said. "I mean, I think the American people have a right to be upset with our performance, our performance as Congress as a whole."
Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) said Congress made its priorities what were not the people's priorities. "I see a lot of blame shifting going on in all of these postmortems," he added. "I think maybe it's time for people who are in Congress to take responsibility for what Congress did."
In the House, Democrats are on track to hold roughly 260 seats next year, while Senate Democrats could control 56 seats, according to the report.
House Ways and Means Committee Chair Jason Smith (R-Mo.) wrote on X that Republicans needed to understand how they lost the trust of the American people and address how conference rules have empowered members to vote against rules, bills and even the Speaker before choosing a new leader.
Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-N.J.), who lost his own race, pointed to high gas prices, the war in Ukraine and a war with Iran. "A lot of things went wrong," he said. "Some of them you can control, some of them you can't."
Some House Republicans blamed the Senate, where Nehls said 500 or 600 House-passed bills were sitting. Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) said voters who backed Trump on border security disliked what he called overzealous ICE enforcement actions.