Rep. Tim Burchett says Republicans lost ground in the midterm elections because voters remain frustrated with the cost of living and deeply distrustful of Congress, arguing that his party failed to adequately address either problem before Election Day.

Burchett began by thanking supporters after winning his own race, crediting volunteers, block captains, and his congressional staff.

"Hey everybody, Tim Burchett. First of all, I want to thank everybody for the win last night. It was a great effort. Volunteers, block captains, sign placement, everything was incredible. And of course, my staff, the best constituent service in the country, bar none, bar none. We're the model for the House and the Senate. Been told that by a lot of people."

He then turned directly to the broader Republican losses and identified two issues he believes drove the outcome.

"But why did Republicans lose? Two reasons, really. One's affordability. It's the economy, stupid, as was said many times."

Burchett focused much of his economic criticism on diesel fuel prices, arguing that high transportation and agricultural costs continue to filter through the broader economy.

"Affordability, and that led right to the diesel fuel prices that are, again, we're being gouged by the oil companies. Are posting record profits, record profits, and they did it on the backs of the American people."

He said farmers and truck drivers have been particularly affected because of their dependence on diesel fuel, while rail transportation also relies heavily on diesel-powered locomotives.

"Primarily, your farmers who run their equipment off diesel, your truck drivers who haul everything, including your gasoline, and, of course, our trains. A lot of them run big diesel, diesel-electric locomotives, and we didn't address it."

Burchett argued that Congress could have taken action through export controls contained in legislation he supported.

"The bill I had export controls would have allowed that to be probable. I was told by some experts it would drop the price of fuel up to $1 a gallon overnight, and then that would have caused everything else to plummet."

He also disputed arguments tying domestic fuel costs to disruptions around the Strait of Hormuz.

"We get zero oil out of the Strait of Hormuz, and we're getting ripped off. The oil companies are using that as an excuse," Burchett said.

The Tennessee Republican said the second major factor behind the GOP losses was the public’s lack of confidence in Congress itself.

"But the other reason was you don't trust Congress, and it's for good reason, because it's infinitely broken and crooked. Both parties," he said.

Burchett pointed specifically to congressional stock trading as an example of why voters remain skeptical of elected officials.

He said legislation he introduced with Rep. Anna Paulina Luna to impose a more comprehensive stock-trading ban failed to gain momentum.

"The stock trading bill, the bill that myself and Representative Luna put forward, never got any traction. It was a real ban on stock trading."

Burchett criticized the alternative measure that advanced through Congress, arguing that it did not go far enough and was unlikely to become law anyway.

"The one we passed, in my opinion, was very weak. wasn't going anywhere in the Senate anyway, and we touted it as if it was going to do something, and it didn't."

He said polling repeatedly showed Americans do not trust Congress and argued that lawmakers posting extraordinary investment returns only make that distrust worse.

"Instead, and poll after poll showed you don't trust us, and that's why. When congressmen or women are making 1,600 percent returns day in, day out, some of them that's that's some shady dealings."

Burchett offered an unusually blunt assessment of Congress.

"We are crooked as a dog's leg, and those are the two things."

He argued that Republicans could have performed much better if they had tackled affordability and congressional ethics more aggressively before voters went to the polls.

"If we'd have done that, we would have we would have walked in, but we refuse to do that."

With Republicans headed into the minority, Burchett said he intends to keep pressing party leadership on both issues.

"And I, again, I'm going to keep hitting leadership with those things. Although we'll be in the minority, but those are going to be the issues."

He concluded that the party’s biggest problem was failing to deliver on commitments made to voters.

"It's always going to be those couple around those two things, and we just didn't keep our word, and that's what got us."

Burchett said he expects to offer additional thoughts about congressional committee structure and possible reforms but ended by again thanking the voters who returned him to office.

"So anyway, those are my random thoughts. I'm sure I'll have some more on the committee structure later, and some things we need to do to make some changes. But that's where I think we are. Again, I just want to thank y'all so much for sending me here. Appreciate it."

What we did wrong. https://t.co/kIoEy9zoH1

— Tim Burchett (@timburchett) November 5, 2026

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