Republicans complete power takeover with US House majority
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US Speaker of the House Mike Johnson speaking during a meeting with House Republicans in Washington on Nov 13.
PHOTO: REUTERS
WASHINGTON - The Republican Party has won a majority in the US House of Representatives, media projected on Nov 13, completing their clean sweep of Congress, which will hand President-elect Donald Trump vast legislative power.
After more than a week of vote counting, CNN and NBC projected that the Republicans had reached the 218 seats needed to retain their majority in the 435-seat Lower Chamber, having already secured control over the Senate.
“It is a beautiful morning in Washington. It is a new day in America,” said House Speaker Mike Johnson, who held a press conference to celebrate victory on Nov 12 before the result was official.
“The sun is shining, and that’s a reflection about how we all feel. This is a very, very important moment for the country and we do not take it lightly.”
Trump triumphed in each of the seven battleground states in the Nov 5 presidential election
Having control of both chambers of Congress will clear the way for him to confirm his nominations for key positions in his administration and will also allow him to push through his radical agenda of mass deportations, tax cuts and slashing regulations.
“We need positions filled IMMEDIATELY!” Trump wrote on the X social media platform on Nov 10, referring to the need for the Republican-majority Senate to quickly approve his Cabinet picks.
He is also seen by analysts as facing fewer judicial constraints than previous presidents, with his nominations to the Supreme Court during his first term, from 2017 to 2021, having given the high court a heavily conservative tilt.
Trump 2.0 agenda
The Republicans’ clean sweep of the presidency and Congress is not unusual, with Trump in his first term and Democratic predecessors Joe Biden and Barack Obama also benefiting from majorities at the start of their presidencies.
But the loss of the House extinguishes any remaining hope among Democrats that they might be able to stand in the way of Trump’s agenda for now.
On a huge day for governance in Washington, Senate Republicans picked a traditionalist, Mr John Thune
The Senate – the Upper Chamber of Congress – jealously guards its independence and institutional authority, and its leadership election was seen as a clue into how much leeway members intend to give Trump.
The incoming President has promised more tax cuts, a gutting of environmental and other regulations, as well as a crackdown on crime, immigration and his political opponents.
He has begun to assemble his second administration by naming campaign manager Susie Wiles to serve as his White House chief of staff, national security team.
“This Republican team is united behind President Trump’s agenda, and our work starts today,” Mr Thune, who represents South Dakota, said in a brief statement – revealing later that he had spoken on the telephone with Trump.
Trump is expected to further test lawmakers early in his presidency with pardons for rioters convicted in the 2021 storming of the Capitol, sweeping import tariffs and vast tax cuts expected to pile on debt.
The top priority for both parties in both chambers is funding the government to keep federal agencies open after Dec 20, with Republicans mulling a stop-gap measure that would keep the lights on into March.
The entire House of Representatives – Democrats as well as Republicans – gets to vote on the Speaker, meaning Mr Mike Johnson has to wait until the new Congress convenes in January to find out if he can hang on to the gavel. AFP
