Republicans have maintained control of the House of Representatives, cementing the party's full control over the American government for at least the next two years.
The party secured control of the on Wednesday, just over a week after Donald Trump won the presidential election and Republicans picked up enough seats to take back control of the Senate. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) is expected to retain his role, with Trump advocating for him while speaking to the Republican conference at the Capitol earlier in the day.
Democrats managed to retake several key New York House seats they lost in 2022, but the slight overall rightward shift of the electoral map across the nation costs the caucus seats, most notably in California and Arizona.
In 2022, Republicans ripped the House majority away from Democrats by the narrowest of margins. The past two years of GOP control were marked by an obstructionist legislative agenda, performative investigations into President Joe Biden, and a humiliating internal war of influence that saw the ouster of former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy from leadership. The chaos produced little benefit to the American public, but Republican representatives were loud in their assertions that their job wasn't to act in the interest of their constituents, but to help Donald Trump win reelection.
In April, shortly after the MAGA faction of the House GOP attempted to force a government shutdown, Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) told Newsmax that “job one” isn't keeping the government funded, but to get President Donald Trump re-elected to be the president of the United States.” With Republicans now in full control of both chambers of Congress, priority one will be enabling the extremist agenda floated by the president-elect. “If Donald Trump says jump three feet high and scratch your head, we all jump three feet high and scratch our heads — that's it,” Rep. Troy Nehls (R-Texas) said on Wednesday.
Republicans have also taken control of the Senate, swiping at least four seats from Democrats and gaining at least a 53-seat majority in the upper chamber. Incumbents Sharrod Brown (D-Ohio), Jon Tester (D-Mt.), and Bob Casey (D-Penn.) were unseated by their Republican challengers. The GOP picked up an additional seat in Jim Justice — who will replace outgoing Independent West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin.
The key to remaking America in the right's image, however, was Trump's decisive victory over Kamala. Judging by some of his early administration picks he's going to do everything possible to enact an extreme right-wing agenda. Congress is now poised to send the legislation he wants to his desk.
