Holly Honderich
Reporting from Washington

Image source, Getty Images

Throughout her 15-week campaign, much of Harris’s messaging was aimed directly at women, most obviously with her emphasis on abortion.

On the trail, Harris made reproductive rights a cornerstone of her pitch. She repeatedly reminded voters that Trump had once bragged about his role in overturning Roe v Wade - a ruling that ended the nationwide right to an abortion.

The strategy, it seemed, was to harness the same enthusiasm for abortion access that drove Democrats’ unexpected success in the 2022 midterms.

Abortion rights remain broadly popular - only one in 10 Americans thought it should be banned, external.

And even these election results seemed to underline that. Eight out of the 10 states where abortion was on the ballot voted in favour of abortion rights.

But that support did not translate into support for Harris.

Read more about the issues that seemed to resonate with women more.

Image source, Getty Images

A House of Representatives race in Maine will go to ranked choice counting, according to state officials.

It is done this way because neither candidate in the state's 2nd Congressional District received above 50% of the votes.

Instead of casting a single vote, voters in Maine rank their choice in preference order. If a candidate is the first choice in more than half of the votes in the first round of counting, they win.

If nobody gets above 50%, the count continues into round two, with the candidate with the fewest votes eliminated. That process continues until a winner is determined.

This is the third consecutive election in which Maine's 2nd Congressional District will be decided in this way.

Democratic Jared Golden and Republican Austin Theriault are both on the ballot in that district. Theriault's campaign had earlier asked for a recount.

Image source, Reuters

Chris LaCivita, Trump's co-campaign manager, says he does not intend to take a job within the Trump administration.

He told the BBC's US partner CBS News that it was never his goal, and that his next role will be "defender of the team from outside".

LaCivita headed Trump's election bid alongside Susie Wiles, who was announced as the president-elect's chief of staff yesterday.

A new report highlights significant gaps in Europe’s defences, amid growing concerns about the impact of a second Trump presidency on the Nato security alliance and transatlantic defence.

A study by the London based International Institute for Strategic Studies found that European armed forces continue to rely on the US to manufacture and supply key weapons.

It said defence spending in European NATO states had increased by almost 50% between 2014 and 2024. The significant increase in defence spending in recent years is a response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The study also says that European NATO members are now producing more of their own military equipment, with half of spending going towards systems made in Europe and 34% to those manufactured in the US.

As we wait to learn more about Donald Trump's foreign policy plans, we're diving into the Ukrainecast archives to bring you some insight into what the president-elect might do next.

In May, Mike Pompeo, a top contender to become the new secretary of defence, joined the team for an in-depth chat on how the new Trump administration might influence the course of the war - and whether it is possible to end the conflict in 24 hours.

You can listen to the full episode on BBC Sound.

Elon Musk has long angled to send people to Mars on his Starship rocket - and this presidency could help him achieve that.

The tech billionaire donated more than $119m (£91.6m) to help Trump win the presidency and supported the Republican fiercely on his social media platform X. In return, Trump singled out Musk in his victory speech, spending several minutes praising Musk’s company Space X.

Trump has said that in a second term, he would invite the tech mogul into his administration.

“At a minimum, we’re going to get a more realistic Mars plan, you’ll see Mars being set as an objective,” said Doug Loverro, a space industry consultant who once led NASA’s human exploration unit under Trump.

SpaceX, Musk or the Trump team have not yet commented on this and a NASA spokesperson has said it "wouldn’t be appropriate to speculate on any changes with the new administration."

Image source, Reuters

The Visual Journalism Team
BBC News

By Mallory Moench and the Visual Journalism Team

Susie Wiles, who Donald Trump has named as his White House chief of staff, was among the family, friends and advisers who took to the stage for his victory speech on Wednesday.

Wiles, a senior adviser to the Trump campaign, stood alongside Trump’s children, including Eric, Donald Jr and Tiffany and their spouses.

Other campaign managers on stage included Chris LaCivita, RNC chair Michael Whatley, speechwriter Vince Haley and communications strategist Jason Miller.

We took a closer look at the entourage and what this might say about who the next president will keep by his side in future.

Image source, Reuters

While we're still waiting for the final results from Arizona and the House race, Donald Trump started brainstorming to create his new cabinet.

Last night, campaign co-manager Susan Summerall Wiles was announced as his White House chief of staff. Here are a few more names rumoured to be joining Trump's "ice maiden":

Robert F Kennedy Jr

• The nephew of former President John F Kennedy. He ran for president as an independent, but endorsed Trump. Kennedy is known for his anti-vaccine stances. Trump has recently promised he would play a major role in health agencies

Elon Musk

• The world's richest man donated more than $119m (£91.6m) to support Trump. Musk and Trump have both suggested the billionaire may lead a new "Department of Government Efficiency", focussed on cutting what they have called a "massive, suffocating federal bureaucracy"

Mike Pompeo

• Mike served as secretary of state in Trump's last cabinet and has remained a loyal defender of the president-elect. He is a fierce supporter of Israel, and has been tipped as a top contender for the role of defence secretary

Karoline Leavitt

• The Trump 2024 campaign's national press secretary previously served in his White House press office, as an assistant press secretary. She is tipped to become the White House press secretary

Read here for more on who is in the running

Image source, Reuters

As Donald Trump reiterates he's ready to deport millions of people illegally in the US, the Canadian police say they are preparing for an influx of asylum seekers in the wake of the election.

Royal Canadian Mounted Police Sergeant Charles Poirier told media that preparations began months ago to prepare for the arrival of people fearing deportation from the US.

"We knew a few months ago that we had to start prepping a contingency plan because if [Trump] comes into power, which now he will in a few months, it could drive illegal migration and irregular migration into Quebec and into Canada," he told Reuters.

When Trump first came to power in 2017, thousands of asylum seekers crossed into Canada.

Image source, Reuters

Earlier today we reported on comments Trump made to NBC News about his plan to carry out the mass deportation of illegal migrants from the US. Let's take a closer look at those comments now.

The president-elect told NBC last night that he had "no choice" but to carry out the plan, as we reported earlier, referring to people who have "killed and murdered" and "drug lords".

BBC's Verify team looked into Trump's claims during the election campaign, when he said "13,000 convicted murderers" had entered the US during the Biden administration and they were allowed to "openly roam out country".

Both claims are misleading, Verify found, as Trump's claim is based on data that covers a four decade period, encompassing every presidential administration since at least Ronald Regan.

The "openly roam our country" claim is also misleading, Verify found, after the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said the data had been "misinterpreted" and that many are "under the jurisdiction or currently incarcerated by federal, state or local law enforcement partners".

• Verify also looked into Trump's claims that Kamala Harris allowed 21 million "illegals" to enter the US - find out more here

BBC Monitoring

Image source, Reuters

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov says it is too early to talk of a warming in relations between Moscow and Washington, following Donald Trump's victory in the US presidential election.

"There are certain statements, but until the time has come for some specific steps, it would be premature to talk about this," Peskov was quoted as saying by Russia's state-run TASS news agency.

Speaking at an event in Sochi today, President Vladimir Putin congratulated Trump on his victory and indicated that he would be ready to "restore contacts" with Washington.

"What was said [by Trump] regarding a desire to restore relations with Russia, to facilitate a conclusion to the Ukrainian conflict, in my view this deserves attention at the very least," Putin said.

During his campaign, Trump criticised the amount of money spent by the US on supporting Ukraine against Russia, pledging to end the conflict "within 24 hours" through a negotiated deal.

Image source, Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The former chief of MI6 says Vladimir Putin will be "undoubtedly very pleased" that Trump has won the election.

Speaking on BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Sir Alex Younger says Putin "knows that there's a lot in play here" but the Russian president would still need to be aware of Trump's "unpredictability".

On Trumps plans for Ukraine, Younger says "he will attempt to engineer a rapid solution".

"Trump is disdainful of alliances," Younger adds, noting the president-elect takes a "highly transactional" approach to them. Europe needs to reassess its security measures, he adds.

Younger was in charge of the intelligence agency from 2014-2020, when Trump was last president.

Rowan Bridge
North America correspondent, Washington DC

Donald Trump’s projected victory in Nevada is another blow to an already battered Democratic Party.

​​ ​​It means Trump has won six of the seven battleground states, with Arizona yet to declare.

They were states Democrats thought would be competitive - giving them a route to victory. ​​ ​​

Nevada has a large Latino population, and the president-elect made significant inroads with Latino voters, particularly men.

That will have helped carry him to victory here, and more broadly across the country. ​​ ​​ Joe Biden remains the president of the United States and will do until 20 January, when power is formally handed over.

​​I think what you are seeing now, within the Democratic party more widely, is a lot of soul searching. The blame game, if you like, as to what caused them to lose this election and where that leaves the Democratic party and what they need to do next. ​​ ​​

How do they regroup and come back from this, for the mid-term elections in two years time when seats in the legislature - Congress - will be up for grabs.

And beyond that, the presidential election in four years time. ​​ ​​At the moment though that all feels a long way off. There is a lot of licking of wounds.

Image source, Getty Images

As we've been reporting, the Republicans are just a handful of seats short of the 218 needed to take control of the House, or lower chamber of Congress. That would give them significant power to drive through Donald Trump's agenda given that they've also taken control of the Senate, or upper chamber.

But the Democrats retain hope in a few close races. Here are a few contests to watch:

• In California's 13th, 22nd, 22nd, 41st and 45th districts, Democratic challengers are hoping to defeat incumbent Republicans. But vote counts so far suggest the Republicans will cling on
• Arizona's 1st and 6th districts are looking very close. The former of these again signals a slight lead for the incumbent - Republican David Schweikert - over Democratic candidate Amish Shah
• In Maine's 2nd congressional district, incumbent Democratic Congressman Jared Golden is fighting to keep his seat against Republican Austin Theriault - and appears to be holding on
• It's a similar story in Ohio's 9th congressional district, where the current seat occupant, Democratic veteran Marcy Kaptur, narrowly leads over Derek Merrin

With a number of neck-and-neck races ongoing, it's important to reiterate that the numbers could yet change.

• Read more here

If you're just joining us, here's what you should know so far today.

• Who will control the House of Representatives is still unknown
• The Republicans have 211 seats, but need 218 for a majority
• Twenty-four House races are still being counted
• Arizona has still not declared if its Electoral College votes will go to Trump or Harris

Trump has been busy: Last night, he appointed his campaign manager Susie Wiles as White House chief of staff.

He also spoke about his plans for mass deportations, telling NBC News he has “no choice” but to carry out the plan.

Outgoing President Joe Biden spoke yesterday, praising Harris for an “inspiring campaign” and promising to make “every day count” as he finishes his presidency.

International reaction to Trump's win keeps coming. Many leaders have congratulated Trump, but European leaders are also signalling their desire to remain united in support for Ukraine.

Five of the seven swing states changed hands in this election, switching from the Democrats to the Republicans.

As shown in the graphic below, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Michigan, Wisconsin and Nevada all shifted from blue to red. North Carolina also voted Republican, but did so in the previous three elections as well.

Donald Trump is currently projected to win Arizona and if that were to be confirmed, he would have bagged a victory in all swing states in this election cycle.

As we wait for the final results, let's take a look at how the situation stands in the other six battleground states - Georgia, Michigan, Wisconsin, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Nevada.

Image source, Getty Images

The House of Representatives race is still on a knife-edge but if Donald Trump's Republicans were to win the lower chamber, having already taken the White House and Senate, they would have a so-called unified government.

It's not uncommon for one party to control both the legislative and executive branches of government for the first two years.

• Under Biden, Democrats held a trifecta in 2021 to 2022, which helped them pass major bills including the Inflation Reduction Act
• Trump's first term was the last time Republicans held all three, which he used to pass a major tax cut
• Obama also had a trifecta when he first took office in 2009, leading to the passage of the healthcare reform act known as the Affordable Care Act or "Obamacare"

According to the Pew Research Center, external, it has been the “norm" for a president to have unified government at the start of their first term, before congressional elections two years in. The most recent exception was Jimmy Carter whose Democratic Party retained control of both chambers in the 1978 midterms.

However, according to Pew, single-party rule in Washington is becoming less common and in recent history has not led to high levels of "legislative productivity".

That’s partly because you need 60 votes in the 100-seat Senate to pass major bills - having a slim majority in the Senate is not enough.

According to Congress's own in-house historian, external, since the advent of the modern two-party system in 1857, there have been 48 unified governments. Democrats held them 23 times, while Republicans had them 25 times.

Image source, Getty Images

With all this attention on the House of Representatives, let's briefly recap what it is and how it folds into to the wider US government.

The US Congress is made up of two bodies - the House of Representatives and the Senate.

The House is made up of elected representatives from across the country. Each state is allocated a different number of representatives based on their population.

Representatives serve a two-year term and the entire chamber goes up for re-election every November in even-numbered years.

For new legislation to become law, it has to pass a vote in both the House and the Senate.

• As a reminder, the Republican Party have now won a majority in the Senate, and are ahead in the House of Representatives.

Image source, Getty Images

Trump says his administration would have "no choice" but to carry out the mass deportation of people who do not have legal permission to be in the United States.

In an interview with NBC News yesterday, the president-elect said:

If a US administration was able to legally move ahead with plans for mass deportations, authorities would still have to contend with enormous and expensive logistical challenges. Experts estimate it would cost billions of dollars to deport one million people.

Controversial raids on worksites that were carried out during the Trump administration were suspended in 2021.

Annual deportations of people arrested in the US interior have hovered at below 100,000 for a decade, after peaking at over 230,000 per year during the early years of the Obama administration.