Tough road ahead for Obama after Republicans seize US Senate

Republicans rode a wave of voter discontent to seize control of the U.S. Senate, dealing a punishing blow to President Barack Obama that will limit his legislative agenda and may force him to make a course correction for his last two years in office.
The Republican rout Tuesday was wide and deep in what was bound to be seen as a sharp rebuke to Obama, who has lurched from crisis to crisis and whose unpopularity made him unwelcome to Democratic candidates in many contested states.
Obama, who watched election returns from the White House and saw little to warm his spirits, scheduled a news conference for 2:50 p.m. EST (1950 GMT) on Wednesday. He invited Democratic and Republican leaders of Congress to the White House on Friday to take stock of the new political landscape.
The Republicans also strengthened their grip on the U.S. House of Representatives. When the new Congress takes power in January, they will be in charge of both chambers for the first time since elections in 2006.
The Republican takeover in the Senate will force Obama to scale back his ambitions to either executive actions that do not require legislative approval, or items that might gain bipartisan support, such as trade agreements and tax reform, according to a news agency.