Florida Governor Ron DeSantis unloaded on Senate Republicans after Tuesday’s disastrous midterm elections, accusing GOP lawmakers of wasting nearly two years of Republican control over the White House and both chambers of Congress. His complaint was not subtle: Republicans had a rare opening to advance sweeping conservative reforms, then apparently treated it like another meeting where everyone could discuss the problem and leave without fixing it.
During an appearance with Fox News host Laura Ingraham, DeSantis said Senate Republicans failed to pursue an aggressive immigration agenda, codify President Trump’s executive orders, and confront federal courts that obstructed the administration’s deportation efforts. Democrats captured both chambers in the November 3 midterms, leaving Republicans with a much smaller window to act. According to DeSantis, the party spent that window making excuses instead of delivering.
“If you’re going to do huge conservative things that are going to reorient the country for a generation, fine. But I saw no indication that the current group of Republican senators were interested in doing that type of bold conservative change.”
He then listed the priorities he believed Republicans should have pursued: “Why haven’t we done immigration, shut off H-1B visas? Why haven’t we codified Trump’s immigration executive orders?” DeSantis continued, “Why haven’t we stripped jurisdiction from the federal courts over deportation cases? There’s so many things that could have been done. They didn’t even attempt it, Laura.”
DeSantis aimed his criticism at Senate leadership under John Thune, which has repeatedly pointed to procedural obstacles and insufficient votes. He dismissed that defense with a blunt response: “They would say, ‘Oh, if only we needed 50 votes, we would have done it.’ You don’t have 50 votes for doing conservative things. You’ve never shown that you’ll do conservative things even with 50 votes.” In other words, he argued, the issue was not merely vote counting. It was whether Republicans were willing to use the power they had.
DeSantis also connected the lack of legislative results to the midterm losses. “And look, this midterm, no question, was a rebuke of the president and the Congress by Democrats , independents, and some Republicans that crossed over.” He added that many of the party’s voters stayed home because they were frustrated with Republican productivity in the House and Senate. That is a particularly brutal indictment for a party that had spent two years asking voters to trust it with power.
🚨 Ron DeSantis is GOING OFF on Republicans for SQUANDERING our TWO YEAR TRIFECTA — ESPECIALLY on deportations
"Why haven't we STRIPPED JURISDICTION from the federal courts over deportation cases?!"
"Why haven't we done IMMIGRATION?! Shut off H1B visas! Why haven't we CODIFIED… pic.twitter.com/03yd0ns1Nq
— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) November 5, 2026
With Democrats set to take control of the Senate on January 3, 2027, DeSantis urged Republicans to confirm as many of President Trump’s conservative judicial nominees as possible before the handoff. He called for senators to abandon the usual schedule and work around the clock. His proposed solution was about as subtle as the rest of his interview: “ROLL IN COTS to the US Senate Cloakroom! Have them work around the clock. You are NOT gonna be able to confirm ANY conservative judges starting Jan. 3 for the remainder of President Trump’s term.”
🚨 BREAKING: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis tells Senate Republicans to IMMEDIATELY go maximum speed in confirming conservative judicial nominees, NOW ‼️
"ROLL IN COTS to the US Senate Cloakroom! Have them work around the clock. You are NOT gonna be able to confirm ANY conservative… pic.twitter.com/hLoE9sv6rt
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) November 5, 2026
DeSantis’s charge is simple: Republicans were given the power to act, failed to make a serious attempt at several priorities, and now face a Democratic takeover of Congress. That is a rough political report card, and no amount of procedural fine print can make it look like a victory. The remaining weeks are now a test of whether Senate Republicans will confirm judicial nominees or continue explaining why they cannot.
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