Former White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki confirmed that the sentiment inside the hall of her former employer was “giddy” as the results of the 2022 US midterms began pouring in late on Tuesday night.
Ms Psaki said the spirit inside the Oval Office was notably “gleeful” after an anticipated Republican “red wave” failed to materialise and Democrats performed better than expected.
“I’ve been in touch with the White House,” Ms Psaki said on MSNBC, where she’s been working as a contributor since leaving the White House press briefing podium.
“They are giddy and gleeful, as they should be, about where things are sitting right now.”
While control of both the House and the Senate still remain too early to call as of Wednesday morning ET, Democrats have so far held onto several seats that Republicans were brutishly confident about flipping, including in New Hampshire, Colorado and Washington.
Notable Democrats, such as Chuck Schumer, Gavin Newsom and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, also handily won their races, while a Senate flip in Pennsylvania – where Democrat John Fetterman triumphed over Republican Mehmet Oz – has left control for the upper chamber on a razor edge.
“The takeaway to me is this is the right agenda,” Ms Psaki added.
“The Democrats ran on this agenda, it was the right agenda. And I think a lot of these fights include abortion.”
Voters in Michigan, Vermont and California enshrined the right to abortion care in their state constitutions on Tuesday night.
Meanwhile voters in Kentucky and Montana also appear to have shot down anti-abortion measures in their states.
For his part, the president has promised that if Democrats manage to retain control of the House and the Senate, then his party’s next step would be to codify Roe v Wade protections into federal law.
A number of key Senate seats remain too close to call, including the race between Democratic incumbent Raphael Warnock and Herschel Walker in Georgia and the race between Democratic Senator Catherine Cortez Masto and Republican Adam Laxalt in Nevada.
