Republicans have secured the 218 seats needed for a majority in the lower chamber of Congress; House of Representatives, a week after the midterm elections. This gives them leverage to stall President Joe Biden’s agenda and spur a flurry of investigations, even though the party’s margin in the House is slim.
Republicans won the seat they needed for their House majority on Wednesday, November 16, 2022, when California’s 27th district went to incumbent Mike Garcia.
The full scope of the party’s majority may not be clear for several more days or even weeks as votes in competitive races are still being counted.
This is a far cry from the sweeping victory the GOP had predicted going into this year’s midterm elections, when the party hoped to reset the agenda on Capitol Hill by capitalizing on economic challenges and Biden’s lagging popularity.
The Republican party had hoped to win back control of both chambers; House of Representatives and the Senate but underperformed expectations.
The Democrats, however, will keep control of the Senate when the new Congress convenes in January.
Meanwhile, Kevin McCarthy, has been selected by Republicans on Tuesday, November 15, 2022 to be their nominee to replace Democrat Nancy Pelosi as the next Speaker of the House. “Americans are ready for a new direction, and House Republicans are ready to deliver.
Biden congratulated McCarthy, mentioning that he is “ready to work with House Republicans to deliver results for working families.”
“Last week’s elections demonstrated the strength and resilience of American democracy. There was a strong rejection of election deniers, political violence, and intimidation. There was an emphatic statement that, in America, the will of the people prevails.
The future is too promising to be trapped in political warfare.” President Joe Biden
Current House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi, released a statement Wednesday, November 16, 2022 night saying, “In the next Congress, House Democrats will continue to play a leading role in supporting President Biden’s agenda with strong leverage over a scant Republican majority.”
The Republican party’s failure to notch more wins was especially surprising because the party went into the election benefiting from congressional maps that were redrawn by Republican legislatures. History was also in their favour because the party that holds the White House had lost congressional seats during virtually every new president’s first midterm of the modern era.
Some personalities in the Republican party have blamed Donald Trump for the worse-than-expected outcome. Many of the candidates he openly supported struggled to win during the general election.
A Potential For Legislative Chaos.
With such a potentially slim House majority, there’s also potential for legislative chaos.
The dynamic essentially gives an individual member enormous advantage over shaping what happens in the chamber. That could lead to particularly tricky circumstances for Republican leaders as they try to win support for must-pass measures that keep the government funded or raise the debt ceiling.
Despite the GOP’s underwhelming victory, the party will still have notable power. Republicans will take control of key committees, giving them the ability to shape legislation and launch investigations into Biden, his family and his administration.
Biden opined that, the midterms show voters want Democrats and Republicans to find ways to cooperate and govern in a bipartisan manner, but also noted that Republicans didn’t achieve the electoral surge they’d been betting on and vowed, “I’m not going to change anything in any fundamental way.”
A broad survey of the United State electorate, showed that high inflation and concerns about the fragility of democracy had heavily influenced voters. Half of voters said inflation factored significantly, with groceries, gasoline, housing, food and other costs that have shot up in the past year. Only 44% of them said the future of democracy was their primary consideration.
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