Washington ? President Bush and his party savored sweeping midterm election victories Wednesday and began sketching an agenda for a new, Republican-controlled Congress. The leader of defeated House Democrats, Rep. Dick Gephardt, signaled he would step down.

“I’m excited to be able to be on offense,” said Republican Sen. Trent Lott of Mississippi, the once and future Senate majority leader. He said GOP priorities would include a new Homeland Security Department as well as targeted tax cuts to help the economy. He added that Bush’s judicial nominees could expect speedier review.

Bush made no public remarks during the day, and aides said he wanted to avoid giving the appearance of gloating. “There’s a lot more to do and the president looks forward to working with Democrats and Republicans to do it,” said his spokesman, Ari Fleischer.

Republicans were assured of 51 seats in the new Senate, a gain of two. Democrats had 47 and the support of one independent. One race remained in doubt, in Louisiana, where Democratic Sen. Mary Landrieu will face Republican Suzanne Terrell in a December runoff.

In the House, Republicans had 228 seats a gain of five and led for one. Democrats won 203, and led for two. There was one independent.

Senior aides, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Gephardt intended to declare today that he would not seek a fifth term as House Democratic leader. The 61-year-old Missouri lawmaker is a potential challenger for the White House in 2004, but it was not known whether he would discuss his presidential ambitions when he made his announcement.

His decision not to seek a new term in leadership came at the end of a day in which two members of the rank and file urged him to step aside. And it triggered a race between the second-ranking and third-ranking members of the leadership, Reps. Nancy Pelosi of California and Martin Frost of Texas.

Gephardt was elected to a 14th term in the House on Tuesday, and is expected to remain in Congress even though he will no longer be leader of his party.

Senate Minority Leader Trent Lott, R-Miss., reacts to Republicans regaining control of the Senate following Tuesday's election. Lott once again will become majority leader, replacing Sen. Tom Daschle, D-S.D.

Bush’s coattails

The elections marked a remarkable triumph for Republicans, who bucked history to gain seats in a midterm election in which they held the White House.

“I think you have to give an awful lot of credit to the president of the United States,” Lott said. “He put his prestige on the line and I think it made a huge difference in this election.”

One Republican polling firm circulated the results of an election-night survey that made the same point, saying that late-deciding voters gave Bush higher approval ratings than the country at large and that support for the president was higher, still, among voters in the pivotal House districts where the battle for control was settled.

Democrats conceded the obvious. “This was one tough night,” Senate Democratic Leader Tom Daschle said on the morning after, appearing on NBC’s “Today” show.

And some party activists grumbled about the party’s leadership. “There wasn’t any unified message,” said David Worley, former chairman of the party in Georgia. “I think the national leadership did a miserable job of giving a theme to the election.”

House Democratic Leader Richard Gephardt of Missouri is expected to announce today that he will not seek a fifth leadership term.

Democratic issues

A nationwide survey conducted by Public Opinion Strategies, a GOP firm, found a “late surge to Republicans,” much as was the case in the GOP landslide year of 1994. Interviews showed that “the handling of Senator Wellstone’s memorial service and the way the ballot situation was handled in New Jersey was clearly a factor in helping drive Republican intensity this election,” the firm said.

That was a reference to a memorial service in Minnesota for the late Democratic Sen. Paul Wellstone several days before the election. Many Republicans complained the event veered into politics, and Democrats had privately expressed concern about possible fallout.

New Jersey represented a political victory for Democrats, who prevailed in a court case to replace Sen. Robert Torricelli on the ballot even though the deadline for a switch had passed.

Democratic chairman Terry McAuliffe looked for a bright side to the elections.

“It was an extraordinary night for Democratic gubernatorial candidates. Fifty-five percent of Americans woke up today having a Democratic governor,” he said.

Democrats made gains in the governors’ races, although if the election trend held, they would fall short of their goal of winning a majority of the nation’s statehouses.