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The Republican Party has officially taken the majority in the House of Representatives – but by a far narrower margin that Republicans were gunning for going into the elections.
The GOP secured the 218 seats needed to flip control from the Democrats on Wednesday evening with a win in California’s 27th Congressional district, eight days after midterm elections night.
The result came eight days after Election Day – after it emerged that Republicans were going to fall far short of their hopes and expectations of a ‘red wave’ election that would repudiate the Democrats and empower their own agenda.
President Joe Biden congratulated the Republicans on their victory and said he was ready to work with leader Kevin McCarthy, who is in line to become the next House Speaker.
‘In this election, voters spoke clearly about their concerns: the need to lower costs, protect the right to choose, and preserve our democracy, Biden said.
‘As I said last week, the future is too promising to be trapped in political warfare. The American people want us to get things done for them.
‘They want us to focus on the issues that matter to them and on making their lives better. And I will work with anyone – Republican or Democrat – willing to work with me to deliver results for them.’
The Republican victory means Biden’s agenda will face roadblocks in the final two years of his first term and will give Republicans investigative powers when they take control of committees.
The Republican Party has officially taken the majority in the House of Representatives . The GOP secured the 218 seats needed to flip control from the Democrats on Wednesday evening, eight days after midterm elections night
President Joe Biden congratulated the Republicans on their victory and said he was ready to work with leader Kevin McCarthy, who is in line to become the next House Speaker
‘Democrats’ one-party is over,’ a jubilant McCarthy wrote on Twitter in a message saying the party is ready to ‘work for the American people’ and fulfill their party platform, Commitment to America.
McCarthy secured the nomination of House Republicans to be their next Speaker – but he must stand for a vote on the House floor before he can finally secure the post.
That gives a sliver of far right lawmakers leverage to extract concessions – and many have been demanding changes to conference rules that would diminish the speaker’s role and strengthen the hand of party factions.
McCarthy on Tuesday prevailed amid a leadership challenge by Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.), 188-to-31. He will need to work to secure support of 218 members by January when a new House will reconvene.
Rep. James Comer, who is set to take over as Chairman of the House Oversight Committee, has warned there will be probes into Biden’s family, the border and COVID.
Hunter Biden and his foreign business deals could be one of the prime targets when the GOP takes the gavel in January.
The House under its rules is a highly majoritarian institution, meaning Republicans can set their own investigations, determine what comes to the floor, and hold votes when they want – even with the narrowest of majorities.
But any time a narrow faction balks, Democrats can try to seize the initiative and disrupt leadership’s plans, setting up a volatile period.
Even when House Republicans are able to hold their majority and pass legislation, it will run smack into the Democratic-run Senate, where most of their proposals are certain to die.
And Biden continues to wield his veto pen, which he was preparing to brandish if Republicans had taken the House and Senate.
It is a slimmer majority than the Republicans would have liked after the red wave that was predicted failed to materialize.
Current Republican House Leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy is the party’s pick to take over from Nancy Pelosi as speaker, but will still need to win a vote in the full chamber.
The Democrats kept control of the Senate after Senator Catherine Cortez Masto won re-election in her Nevada seat, meaning the government faces two years of gridlock.
While the Democrats’ loss takes away some of Biden’s power in Washington, he has signaled he expects Republicans to cooperate.
In a news conference last week, he said, ‘The American people have made clear, I think, that they expect Republicans to be prepared to work with me as well.’
Conservatives are threatening to hold back on a needed debt-limit increase next year unless significant spending reductions are achieved.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will lose the title as she is now in the minority. There will now be questions over her future and whether she will step down from leadership.
‘It’s critical that we’re prepared to use the leverage we have,’ far-right House Freedom Caucus Chairman Scott Perry told Reuters last month.
If he secures sufficient support, McCarthy will take the gavel from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who has run her own conference with a firm hand despite a narrow 220 vote majority of her own.
There will now be questions over Pelosi’s future and whether she will step down from leadership.
She has said the attack on Paul Pelosi in her San Francisco home that left him with a fractured skull will factor into her decision on the future.
Pelosi, 82, is the first woman to serve as speaker, and has led her party in both the majority and minority.
Her two lieutenants, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer of Maryland and Majority Whip James C. Clyburn, have served in the House for decades, while younger members have been preparing to face off in the event of a vacancy.
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