White House: Trump won’t call Pelosi if Dems win House

by Jordan Fabian - 11/06/18 9:59 PM ET

The White House expressed optimism on Tuesday night as results began to roll in from House and Senate races that indicated a so-called blue wave for Democrats might not materialize.

“It’s been a good night for the president up until this point,” President Trump’s top spokeswoman, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, told reporters at the White House. “Maybe you get a ripple but I certainly don’t think there’s a wave.”

{mosads}Sanders indicated Trump won’t call House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) if Democrats take control of the lower chamber, saying the leader’s hold on her leadership position is tenuous.

“I’m not sure why you would call Nancy Pelosi, considering a lot of members of her own party have said they wouldn’t support her. If Democrats win tonight, I think we need to wait and see who their Speaker is.”

Democrats have flipped several key House seats that could help them take over the majority, but Republicans held a pivotal Tennessee Senate seat and defeated incumbent Democratic Sen. Joe Donnelly (Ind.), virtually closing off Democrats’ path to taking the upper chamber.

Sanders credited Trump for closing the deal for Indiana GOP Senate candidate Mike Braun and other candidates who embraced him during their campaigns.

“So far, most of the races where the president has gone in, those candidates are doing extremely well,” she said.

She also cautioned Democrats against launching widespread investigations of Trump if they take control of the House, suggesting that would be a misreading of the political environment.

“We have a president that’s willing to work across the aisle to get things done,” she said earlier on Fox News. “We feel good about where we are in the Senate, but if Democrats take the House, they shouldn’t waste time investigating, they should focus on what the people put them there to do.”

Trump is taking in the results at a watch party inside the White House with family members, major donors and supporters.