*By Carlo Versano*
There is an unspoken tradition in Washington that the president faces the press a day after a midterm election that revokes power from his party in Congress. When Democrats gained control of both houses in 2006, a humbled President George W. Bush called it a "thumping." In 2010, an equally-chastened President Barack Obama admitted his party took a "shellacking."
No such thing happened on Wednesday.
President Trump vacillated between subdued and combative as he called Tuesday's election ー in which Democrats took control of the House and several pivotal governorships ー a "very close-to-complete victory."
Trump took credit for the GOP's ability to maintain control of the Senate and blamed certain losses of House Republican candidates on their disloyalty. He praised Rep. Nancy Pelosi, calling her "very smart," but then warned House Democrats that he would have Senate Republicans probe their conduct, should they use their newfound subpoena power to investigate him.
In a nearly two-hour-long press conference from the East Room of the White House that began with a low-key statement but quickly deteriorated into a rollicking Q&A, the president ratcheted up his antagonism of the gathered press corps. He called CNN's Jim Acosta a "rude, terrible person" and excoriated PBS' Yamiche Alcindor for asking "a racist question" when she attempted to probe him on whether his rhetoric was emboldening white nationalists.
As the president spoke, the AP called the contested Montana Senate race for Jon Tester, one of the Democrats that Trump was reportedly most hoping to defeat.
The annual White House Correspondents' dinner was held on Saturday, and this year's dinner was hosted by The Daily Show's Roy Wood Jr. President Joe Biden gave a speech and didn't hold back, poking fun at Fox News and his own approval ratings.
Appearing on CNN's "State of the Union," Sen. Bernie Sanders on Sunday said President Joe Biden is headed for a "landslide" victory in 2024, as long as Democrats remain "stronger on working-class issues."
A first-of-its-kind federal investigation has found two hospitals put a pregnant woman's life in jeopardy and violated federal law by refusing to provide an emergency abortion when she experienced premature labor at 17 weeks.
President Joe Biden is set to host President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. of the Philippines for White House talks Monday as concerns grow about the Chinese navy's harassment of Philippine vessels in the South China Sea.
While doctors fear the dangers of untrained people managing their own hormone replacement therapy, a growing number of transgender people say they see no other option for life-saving care.
Abortion bans in deeply conservative Nebraska and South Carolina each fell a single vote short of passing in their legislatures amid heated debates among Republicans.
Senate Republicans on Thursday blocked a Democratic measure to revive the Equal Rights Amendment, dealing yet another blow to supporters who have pushed for more than five decades to amend the Constitution to prohibit discrimination based on sex.
Former Vice President Mike Pence testified Thursday before a federal grand jury investigating efforts by then-President Donald Trump and his allies to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Iran reportedly seized another oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman, according to the U.S. Navy.
