Midterms: Republicans win majority in House of Representatives


Republicans have regained control of the House of Representatives, according to US media on Wednesday, giving them blocking power over Joe Biden’s policies until 2024 and leading to a split in Congress. After failing to take over the Senate, the Conservative party will only have a very narrow majority in the lower house, however, far from the “giant wave” promised by Donald Trump, who nevertheless announced a new candidacy on Tuesday evening. to the White House. The former president’s lieutenants have indeed received very mixed results in the mid-term elections.

A slim Republican majority

“Americans are ready for a new direction, and House Republicans are ready to act,” said House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy, now a favorite in the race for the leadership of this assembly, the current “speaker” Nancy Pelosi having lost her Democratic majority. “House Democrats will continue to play a leading role in supporting President Biden’s agenda – with strong influence over a slim Republican majority,” Ms. Pelosi wanted to believe.

Democratic President Joe Biden immediately congratulated Mr. McCarthy, stressing in a statement that he intends to “work with anyone – Republicans or Democrats – willing to work with me to take action”.

NBC, CNN, Fox News and CBS projected on Wednesday that Republicans would have at least 218 seats in the House, that is to say the majority of the 435. If the US media projections are confirmed on all the seats, the performance of Joe Biden would nevertheless constitute the best score of a president in more than 20 years in the midterm elections, this election being traditionally difficult for the power in place.

This very thin Republican majority in the lower house also risks complicating its governance. With a Republican House and a Democratic Senate, Joe Biden’s party will no longer be able to pass major projects in this now divided Congress. But neither does the other side.

The Republicans had threatened to unravel certain measures adopted under Joe Biden if they regained control of the two chambers. They wanted in particular to reconsider the funds allocated to the tax services to hire new agents, or on certain reforms in the world of education. Republicans could also be more fussy about Washington’s aid to Ukraine.

They had also planned to attack the right to abortion or to legislate on firearms, which would have pushed Joe Biden to use his right of veto.

Joe Biden risks hitting a red wall

The 79-year-old president will not ultimately be forced to camp on this defensive posture. And will on the contrary have to use his negotiating skills, inherited from his long career as a senator, to avoid a paralysis of the federal administration (the famous “shutdown”). But the president’s outstretched hand risks hitting a red wall, the color of the conservatives.

Even with a slim majority in the House, Republicans will have substantial oversight power, which they have promised to use for a host of investigations into Joe Biden’s handling of the pandemic or the withdrawal of Afghanistan. They could also go after his son Hunter, accused of using his name to do business in Ukraine and China.

The Conservative Party intends to exploit any potential Democratic flaw, keeping the 2024 presidential election in sight. With his declaration of candidacy on Tuesday, Donald Trump launched a merciless fight for the nomination of the Republican Party for the election to the White House.



Source link -75