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President Barack Obama speaks during a press conference in the East Room of the White House on November 5, 2014 in Washington, DC. MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images

Last Updated Nov 5, 2014 3:58 PM EST

WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama said Wednesday he has heard the message from voters who put Republicans in power in the U.S. Senate and extended their majority in the House of Representatives in a midterm election that was a clear repudiation of the president's leadership.

"To everyone who voted, I hear you," Mr. Obama said.

Mr. Obama said the Republican victories are a sign Americans want Washington "to get the job done" and he is eager to hear Republican ideas for governing together.

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Still, he vowed not to give up on his priorities, including job creation and changing the country's broken immigration system. He stood by his pledge to act on his own to reduce deportations improve border security by the end of the year.

Tuesday's vote gives Republicans momentum heading into the 2016 presidential race, which becomes the focus of American politics for the next two years. At issue now is whether Mr. Obama, congressional Democrats and the newly robust Republican majorities will be able to break the legislative gridlock that has gripped the U.S. capital in recent years.

Mr. Obama said that over the next two years, he will "measure ideas by whether they work for the American people" - not by whether they are proposed by Republicans or Democrats.

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Obama to those who voted for change: "I hear you"