Trump says the Senate is 'killing our country,' blames it for GOP midterm rout

President Donald Trump told reporters Friday night that the Senate "is killing our country," calling it a "roadblock" and the biggest reason Republicans lost both chambers of Congress. He also insisted the midterms were not his election because he was not on the ballot.

President Donald Trump turned his frustration over Tuesday's midterm losses on the Senate on Friday night, telling reporters the chamber "is killing our country" and urging Senate Majority Leader John Thune to finally get legislation moving before Democrats take control of Congress in January.

"The Senate has to act. The Senate is getting nothing passed and it's just killing our country," Trump said when asked about his priorities for the weeks before the new Congress is sworn in. He spoke to reporters in Florida after delivering a speech at NASA's Kennedy Space Center."The Democrats vote in a bloc. We could have the best bill in the world for our country. They vote in a bloc and we always have a few Republicans that obstruct," he said. "You send things to the Senate when you want it to die."

In this clip, Trump calls the Senate "a roadblock" and repeats that "nothing is getting through." He went on to say voters noticed: "Our voters saw that, and that's one of the problems we had. In my opinion, the biggest." He also complained that "many judges and many other people" are still waiting for Senate confirmation.

The SAVE America Act and Thune's future

Trump singled out the SAVE America Act, a package of voting restrictions he has pressed Senate Republicans to take up for months, even though Thune said it could not pass, CBS News noted. "The Democrats voted against it unanimously. So they voted against voter ID and proof of citizenship," Trump said. "But the Republicans should have passed it. So with John Thune, who's a good man, but he's gotta get things done."

Asked whether Thune is still the right leader for Senate Republicans, Trump stopped short of backing him. "It's gonna be up to the Republicans. They choose. I don't choose," he said, adding that the vote is "gonna be happening, I guess, next week." Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin is pushing to delay those leadership elections. "There's no reason to rush into the elections, particularly after stunning defeat," Johnson said Friday on CBS News' "The Takeout with Major Garrett." The Senate is expected to return next week for a lame-duck session, with Republicans holding their majority only until January.

"I wasn't on the ballot"

The remarks came the same day Trump named Stephen Miller as White House chief of staff, replacing Susie Wiles. Asked whether he was unhappy with his team because of the election results, Trump said: "No, not because of the election. It's just time. Sometimes you change." He then turned to the midterms themselves.

Here, Trump argues the losses were not a verdict on him. "The election wasn't my election. I wasn't on the ballot," he says, describing his campaign rallies as "the biggest, most powerful rallies in the history of midterm elections," with full arenas and crowds watching on Jumbotrons outside. "I wish I was on the ballot. I think you would've had a much different outcome," he added.

The results were lopsided. Democrats flipped more than 40 Republican-held House districts, and CBS News estimates they will hold at least 54 Senate seats and around 256 House seats in January, with Senate races in Mississippi and Alaska still undecided. Trump said "presidents always lose" midterms and that there have been "a lot bigger losses than this." Besides the Senate, he blamed higher oil prices, which he defended as the cost of keeping Iran from getting a nuclear weapon.

Open to working with Democrats

Trump also signaled some flexibility toward the incoming Democratic majorities. Asked what Democratic-led efforts he could support, he listed immigration, "certain things having to do with taxes" and economic development initiatives. "I think we can do a lot of things together, actually," he said. "I'm very much open to it." Earlier in the week he had told reporters he would "get along, probably, with the Democrats, unless they want to be destructive, but I have the power of the veto," according to CBS News.

Asked about Miller, who takes over Monday, Trump called him "a great fighter" and added: "He's been an MVP every year."

Videos: Clash Report / X. Photo: Official White House Photo by Patrick Witty / Wikimedia Commons (archive)

Trump says the Senate is 'killing our country,' blames it for GOP midterm rout