A prominent Republican donor says he is ready to distance himself from President Donald Trump, after Democrats won control of both chambers of Congress in a midterm "blue tsunami" that ushered in the president's lame-duck era.

In assessing where the party went wrong, some GOP insiders and operatives have pointed to Trump at the top of the ticket, according to Fox News. Even candidates hand-picked by the president were soundly defeated in races that had previously been safe for the party.

"First and foremost, this is a Trump loss," said Dan Eberhart, an oil drilling chief executive and well-known Republican donor. "He wanted people to consider him on the ballot. Unfortunately, as a Republican, that's what we got."

Eberhart put it bluntly: "I think Trump being a lame duck starts today. You know, if I'm up in the [2028] cycle, I'm waking up today, I'm against the arch. I'm against the ballroom. I want space from Trump."

Some anticipate a significant shift in Trump's support in Congress as he enters a lame-duck period — a stretch when a president's diminished standing typically erodes his leverage over his own party's lawmakers — that is likely to be marked by investigations and a stalled agenda.

Democrats flipped seven Senate seats and 27 House seats on Election Night. They will hold at least 54 seats in the Senate, with upsets in Texas, Kansas and South Carolina among them, while races in Alaska and Mississippi remain in the balance. In the House, the flipped districts put Democrats on pace to win more than 250 seats, with some outlets projecting a range of 251 to 268 — margins that hand the party control of the agenda in both chambers.

One House Republican faulted the party's leadership for "bluster" rather than "doing the job," though he did not name Trump directly. "All the name changes were so unnecessary – Gulf of America, Lake of America, Department of War," the lawmaker said.

Another lawmaker offered a longer list of failings, citing the quality of some of the candidates, Trump's tariffs and immigration enforcement, affordability, the historic headwinds facing a midterm — elections that have historically cost seats for the party holding the White House — and a shift toward populism at the expense of traditional conservatism.

Trump has his own explanation. He says he was not on the ballot, and that if he had been, voters "would have gotten out." Vice President JD Vance has laid the blame at the feet of the Iran war. Trump told Fox News anchor Bret Baier that gasoline prices driven by the conflict with Iran probably had something to do with the Republican losses.

Late Tuesday, Trump posted a picture of a red hat inscribed with "Veto" on Truth Social, and he has promised to veto any "insane" legislation from Democrats following their victory. With Democrats set to control both chambers, the veto pen stands as his principal check on the bills they advance — and one with real arithmetic behind it, since overriding a veto requires two-thirds majorities in the House and Senate, more than the Democrats' projected 251-to-268 House seats or their at-least-54 Senate seats.

The fallout is already underway. CBS News reports that Trump has been asking advisers whether Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth should remain in his post, though the president has not decided to replace him. Separately, House Speaker Mike Johnson intends to stand down as the party's leader, a decision that will set up a leadership contest among House Republicans, while the uncalled races in Alaska and Mississippi will settle the final Senate math.