Ron DeSantis breaks his silence on the midterms after Republicans suffer nationwide losses. He calls the results a rebuke of Trump

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis spoke out on Wednesday about the midterm results that saw Republicans lose ground in races across the country. He placed responsibility on President Donald Trump and the Republican Congress that is leaving office, arguing that voters sent a clear message about performance and results.

Democrats picked up the House, the Senate, multiple governorships, hundreds of state legislative seats, and many other positions. Senate Republicans started the night with a 53-47 edge. With some ballots still outstanding, Democrats look positioned for a minimum of 54 seats and could end up with as many as 56, according to Mediaite.

One of the sharper turns came in Texas, where Republicans failed to hold any statewide office. That marked the first time since 1994 that a Democrat had not been shut out of every statewide contest in the state. DeSantis, who competed against Trump for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, offered his assessment during an appearance on The Ingraham Angle on Fox News.

DeSantis points to unfinished work on immigration and related measures

Host Laura Ingraham asked him about the choice not to eliminate the filibuster. She put the question this way: “Governor, how big of a mistake was it not to get rid of the filibuster given what is at stake next year?”

DeSantis answered that major conservative changes could justify the move if lawmakers were prepared to pursue them. He said, “If you’re going to do huge conservative things that are going to reorient the country for a generation, fine.” He followed by noting that he never saw evidence the current group of Republican senators intended to take that path.

He listed specific items he believed should have been addressed. “But I saw no indication that the current group of Republican senators were interested in doing that type of bold conservative change. I mean, why haven’t we done immigration? Shut off H-1 B visas? Why haven’t we codified Trump’s immigration executive orders? Why haven’t we stripped jurisdiction from the federal courts over deportation cases?”

DeSantis went on to say he had hoped for more visible progress from Congress. “I would love to see all this great stuff being done,” he said. “I just never saw an indication that they did it.” Ahead of the vote, Republicans were already worried that Trump had made the election all about himself.

He then summed up the election in straightforward terms. “Look, this midterm, no question, was a rebuke of the president and the Congress by Democrats, independents, and some Republicans that crossed over. But a lot of our voters who stayed home, they stayed home because they were frustrated with the lack of productivity from Republicans in the House and Senate.”

The governor described the losses as a direct response from multiple groups of voters, including some Republicans who switched sides and others who simply did not turn out. He tied the lower participation among the party’s own supporters to disappointment over limited legislative results during the period Republicans controlled both chambers. A former GOP congressman has similarly argued that Trump helped Republicans lose the midterms.