Republicans knocked off Democrats in two perennially contested U.S. House seats in eastern Pennsylvania while U.S. Rep. Scott Perry, one of the hardest right members of the chamber, survived a challenge in a southern Pennsylvania district with more moderate politics.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries congratulated President-elect Donald Trump, saying, "The American people have spoken."

President Biden stands by his decision to drop out of the presidential race, the White House said Thursday, and suggested the Democrats' loss was part of a global phenomenon in which voters rejected incumbents because of pandemic fallout.

Government investigators have concluded that Neera Tanden, the domestic policy adviser at the White House, broke the law when she repeatedly used social media to solicit campaign donations for Democrats.