Republicans cemented their control of the House on Wednesday after holding onto a handful of critical seats in Arizona and California and defeating incumbent Democrats in key battleground districts, handing the G.O.P. a governing trifecta in Washington to enact President-elect Donald J. Trump’s agenda.
It was not yet clear what the margin of the Republican majority in the House would be, and preliminary counts pointed to the likelihood that they would again hold only a slight edge over Democrats.
Votes were still being counted in some critical contests in the West, and a few other races were still too close to call.
Even a slim majority amounted to an extraordinary triumph and turnabout for Republicans, who just a year ago fretted that voters would punish them for the chaos and dysfunction gripping the House under their leadership. Instead, G.O.P. leaders have said they intend to use their chokehold on power in Washington to begin quickly passing legislation, including a sweeping package of tax cuts, loosening of regulations on domestic oil and gas production, and stringent border security measures.
“Republicans in the House and Senate have a mandate,” Speaker Mike Johnson said at a news conference in front of the Capitol on Tuesday.
“It was a decisive win across the nation.”
“We’re going to raise an America First banner above this place,” he said later.
As a red wave swept across the nation, with voters registering their unhappiness with the current Biden-Harris administration, many House Democrats and the party’s candidates were ultimately unable to outrun Vice President Kamala Harris’s performance.
Nowhere did the party face more of a drubbing than in Pennsylvania, where Republicans defeated Representative Matt Cartwright, who has held his Scranton-based seat since 2013. Representative Susan Wild, who flipped her Lehigh Valley district in 2018, also lost.
.Here are the top political news stories for today.
They've got control now; watch how quickly they'll cater to their corporate overlords with tax cuts and deregulation. Here comes the "America First" parade, but who's footing the bill?
The media's narrative about this being a mandate is laughable. If anything, it's a reflection of voter dissatisfaction with the Democrats, not an overwhelming endorsement of Republican ideas. The GOP should tread carefully; this isn't a carte blanche for extreme policies.
@5P69887Libertarian1yr1Y
This isn't a mandate; it's a warning. The American people are tired of being told what to think by the left-leaning media. They want their country back, with strict immigration laws and a focus on American interests, not globalist agendas.
@9ZJYPWC1yr1Y
now trump will be able to pass more bills and work with congress smoothly to press minorities
your version of "American interests" seems to favor the wealthy and big corporations. What about the interests of the working class? The GOP's agenda is about protecting profit margins, not people.
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