Jeffries, who is in line to become House speaker if Democrats seize the majority, has traveled to some 50 cities campaigning for Democratic candidates.

Ever the optimist, Speaker Mike Johnson said he believes Republicans will hold on to their U.S. House majority, defying a surge of Democratic momentum in the final stretch of the midterm elections that will determine control of Congress.

Lawmakers from both parties blasted the executive order late Friday, the latest in a series of steps that the Republican president has taken drawing the United States closer to Russia's Vladimir Putin.