Obama, Republican victors talk truce, prepare for battle Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell is expected to become Senate majority leader following the midterm elections. Washington: Far from heralding a new era of cooperation in Washington, DC, the Republican midterm rout of Democrats appears to have set the parameters for the next major battle between the two gridlocked political parties, this time over immigration. Though Barack Obama and Senator Mitch McConnell, who is expected to be made Republican Senate Leader next week, made rhetorical gestures towards cooperation on Wednesday, both men also vowed to defend their opposing party lines on the issue. In a long press conference at the White House, President Obama said that despite the Republican seizure of power in the Senate and its increased majority in the House, he planned to use his executive authority before the end of the year "to take whatever lawful actions that I can take, that I believe will improve the functioning of our immigration system." US president Barack Obama speaks after Democrats lost the US senate majority. Democrats want to make it possible for many of the 11 million long-term undocumented immigrants in the United States to become legal residents. The issue divides the Republican Party. The GOP's establishment believes it must pass the reforms to build bridges with the growing Hispanic community, which now votes overwhelming for Democrats, but its Tea Party right advocates shutting the borders and expelling so-called "illegals." Many of them believe the Democrats only support the reforms in order to change American demographics for their electoral benefit. Speaking in Kentucky an hour before President Obama's press conference Senator McConnell said any move to use his authority to change regulations without congressional support would be like "waving a red flag in front of a bull" to conservatives. Beyond that issue Senator McConnell said he wanted to repeal key parts of President Obama's main legislative achievement, the Affordable Healthcare Act. "It is no secret that every one of my members thinks that 'Obamacare' was a huge legislative mistake, " he said. So I think we will be addressing that issue in a variety of different ways. It is inconceivable that President Obama would sign a bill that revoked key parts of the reforms. Even as they staked out their new battle lines men offered rhetorical support for cooperation. "The American people sent a message, one that they've sent for several elections now," said an oddly upbeat President Obama. At one point he even observed that he was too old to allow disappointing electoral results to make him "mopey." They expect the people they elect to work as hard as they do. They expect us to focus on their ambitions and not ours. They want us to get the job done. All of us in both parties have a responsibility to address that sentiment. He conceded that Republicans, who had won a Senate majority and extended their control of the House, had "had a good night." He said he would like to share some Kentucky bourbon with Senator McConnell and even let the House Speaker, John Boehner, beat him in a round of golf. In Kentucky Mitch McConnell sent similar signals. "When the American people choose divided government, I don't think it means they don't want us to do anything," Senator McConnell said. Twice he vowed there would be no government shutdown under his leadership. Both leaders said there were areas where they might be able to work together, particularly in promoting free trade. It now appears clear that President Obama will have more chance to gain the congressional authority he needs to quickly complete TPP negotiations under a Republican controlled senate than in the Democratic senate. "We can also work together to grow our exports and open new markets for our manufacturers to sell more American-made goods to the rest of the world," he said. "That's something I'll be focused on when I travel to Asia next week," he said, referring to his trip to China next week, his last trip to the region before he attends the G20 in Australia later this month. Both men mentioned support for tax reform, though President Obama favours closing loopholes while Senator McConnell's priority is to lower corporate tax rates. Even if President Obama and Senator McConnell can find common ground, the pressure on the Senator from the right wing of his own party was already apparent on Wednesday morning. As he arrived on stage Senator McConnell breezily mentioned that he had received two congratulatory phone calls earlier, one from President Obama, one from the Texas Tea Party firebrand Senator Ted Cruz. Senator Cruz has yet to offer his support for Senator McConnell's leadership, and is the face of trenchant conservative opposition not just to Democrats, but to the Republican Party's DC establishment - now led by Senator McConnell. Over the weekend Senator Cruz said he believed the new Congress' first order of business should not be work with the White House to break the gridlock, but launch hearings into the Obama Administration, "looking at the abuse of power, the executive abuse, the regulatory abuse, the lawlessness that sadly has pervaded this administration."