Republicans are expected to maintain a majority in the House of Representatives when President-elect Trump returns to the White House in January, giving Republicans complete control of Washington.
The Policy Desk Headquarters predicted that Republicans would gain 218 seats on Monday, the number needed for a House majority, and retain control of the House.
As a result, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) won a landslide victory. He rose quickly from obscurity to play a major role not only in the legislative arena, but also in the electoral infrastructure of the House Republicans.
Republicans rescued some of their most vulnerable incumbents, such as Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) and Rep. David Valadao (R-Calif.), while defeating several vulnerable Democratic incumbents. . State Rep. Ryan McKenzie (R-PA) defeated Rep. Susan Wilde (D-PA) and businessman Rob Bresnahan defeated Rep. Matt Cartwright (D-PA). .
These results offset some of the Republican losses. Three first-term New York Republicans, Rep. Anthony D'Esposito, Mark Molinaro, and Brandon Williams, lost their re-election bids, as did Rep. Lori Chavez Delemer (R-Ore.).
Vote counting is still underway in several elections in California, and the final breakdown of the House remains unclear. But Republicans are expected to win an even slimmer majority heading into the new Congress.
These exact numbers will be critical to Mr. Johnson's political future, what policies Republicans can enact, and how the House of Representatives will work, or not.
In his victory speech in Palm Beach, Florida, early Wednesday morning, President Trump encouraged the Speaker: And I want to thank Mike Johnson. I think he's doing a great job. ”
House Minority Leader Steve Scalise (R-Louisiana) and House Republican Party Chair Elise Stefanik (New York) also joined Trump to celebrate his victory at Mar-a-Lago and support him. This demonstrated the strong determination of House Republicans. management.
Top House Republicans have been working with Senate Republicans for months on a legislative plan that could be quickly delivered to President Trump during the first 100 days of full Republican control. These include extending tax cuts passed during President Trump's first term, increasing funding for the border wall, repealing climate change measures, and promoting school choice.
But there are likely to be many obstacles to the Republican Party's ambitious policies. The past two years, with a historically small Republican majority in the House, have been marked by intraparty bickering and, at times, legislative activity stalled. Spearheading the chaos was the historic ouster of former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.).
Uncertainty about the party's approval rating also raises immediate questions about Johnson's future.
He has made it clear that he intends to seek the gavel again if Republicans gain unified control of the government. But he faces opposition from a small number of hardline conservatives, led by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) and Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) earlier this year. He has already survived one attempt to dismiss him. House Democrats helped block that effort.
To keep the gavel, Johnson will need to secure a majority vote on the floor of the House of Commons, which convenes on January 3, 2025, and will require near-unanimous support from Republicans.
In an interview on the campaign trail in October, Mr. Johnson told The Hill that he intended “our party to support the Speaker” on the House floor.
The Republican victory also significantly denied House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York the chance to become the first black speaker of the House.
The House race is expected to be about as close as the race for the White House, with battleground districts stretching from coast to coast and mostly in states that are not competitive in presidential elections. Democrats needed a net gain of at least four seats to take the House majority and had hoped to win support from voters concerned about Republicans' positions on reproductive rights.
In an interview on Election Day, National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) Chairman Richard Hudson, RN.C., who is seeking re-election, highlighted several areas that the House Republican campaign arm is focusing on. He pointed out that this gave him confidence. election.
Mr. Hudson said that by splitting the cost of TV ads with candidates, they were able to lower their fees and make more money on a dollar-for-dollar basis. He also noted that the NRCC has opened more than 40 field offices, or “battle stations.”
“I feel like the last few cycles the political parties have been moving away from the ground game, but this time we've made a big investment in the ground game,” Hudson said.
The election results are likely to have an impact on the remaining legislative battles in the final weeks of the 118th Congress. Hardline conservatives want to delay consideration of the must-pass proposal until the new year, when a Republican control of the Senate and White House could lead to more conservative policies and lower spending levels. Probably.
The House will need to act on a number of items during the lame duck period. For example, government funding expires on December 20th.
Mike Lillis contributed.
