Just days after Democrats won majorities in both chambers of Congress, President Donald Trump unloaded on the Senate, saying it "has to act" and is "killing our country." Speaking to reporters on Friday, November 6, he said nothing is getting passed and that both Democrats and Republicans share the blame. He argued that Democrats vote as a bloc while a few Republicans always obstruct, and he called the Senate a roadblock where, in his words, bills are sent when you want them to die. Trump also said the Senate's failure to approve his priorities was one of the biggest reasons Republicans did badly in the midterms.

His main example was the SAVE America Act, a package of voting restrictions that he pressed Senate Republicans to take up for months, even though Majority Leader John Thune has said it could not pass. Trump called Thune a good man who "has to get things done," but when asked whether Thune should keep leading Senate Republicans, he said that is up to the Republican senators to decide. Senators are due back for a lame-duck session on November 9, and the new Democratic-led Congress will be sworn in on January 3. Some critics pointed out that the Senate was on recess when Trump made his remarks, and later that night he posted an image calling himself "Mr. Veto." The big question is whether the Senate can pass anything in the short time left, or whether Trump's pressure campaign is mostly aimed at shaping the story of why Republicans lost.