WASHINGTON — Republicans will retain control of the House by the slimmest of margins, NBC News predicted Wednesday. President-elect Donald Trump and his party holds all the levers of power in Washington.
A Republican-controlled Congress will allow Trump to quickly fill Cabinet and other top administration roles and advance his agenda for at least the next two years. Democrats will have some influence With small majorities in the House and Senate.
The razor-thin victory for Republicans in the House of Representatives was Trump’s decisive victory over Vice President Kamala Harris. both the Electoral College and the popular vote. This is a blow to Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and the Democrats, who will now be unable to effectively check Trump, a man they warned on the campaign trail was a threat to democracy, an extremist and a fascist.
As of Wednesday afternoon, Republicans had shifted seven seats and Democrats six, with the GOP gaining just one seat. Until now Republicans took 218 seats Democrats need to secure a majority to get 208 seats. Last week, Republicans gained three seats from Democrats in the Senate takes control of the upper house.
“It’s a beautiful morning in Washington. It’s a new day in America,” said House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., on the Capitol steps surrounded by his leadership team as he returned to Washington on Tuesday. “The sun is shining and it reflects how we all feel.”
How the Republicans won
Democrats believed they were in a good position to regain the majority they lost just two years ago. Given that Republicans held 220 seats to Democrats’ 212, they needed a net gain of just four seats to flip control of the House. the smallest majority in modern history.
But the two parties battled to a mostly tie in the House, maintaining a Republican-leaning status quo.
Democrats did it in New York Take down a trio of vulnerable freshman GOP incumbents: Rep. in the Syracuse area. Brandon Williams, Rep. of Long Island. Anthony D’Esposito and Rep. covering parts of the Hudson Valley and Catskills region. Marc Molinaro. They were among 18 GOP House districts President Joe Biden carried in 2020.
Democratic challenger George Whitesides also unseated GOP Rep. Mike Garcia in a vulnerable Southern California seat.
But Trump’s triumph, including victories in key House races such as Pennsylvania and Michigan, helped rouse GOP incumbents and new candidates where it mattered.
Two of the biggest GOP awards came in the Keystone State. Republicans unseated two vulnerable, veteran Democrats in neighboring districts in eastern Pennsylvania. GOP businessman Rob Bresnahan unseated six-term Rep. Matt Cartwright, a former leadership member in the 8th District, which Trump is carrying in 2020. In the neighboring 7th District, based in Allentown, GOP state Rep. Ryan Mackenzie upset Democratic Rep. Susan. Wild, the top Democrat on the House Ethics Committee.
Meanwhile, in the capital city of Harrisburg, Democrats believed they were one good luck Unseat former Freedom Caucus Chairman Scott Perry, a Trump ally who played a role in efforts to nullify the 2020 election. But the six-term incumbent fended off a strong challenge from Janelle Stelson, a former local TV anchor who attacked Perry on everything. January 6 Attack on the Capitol and the right to abortionetc to voices on veterans’ issues.
Republicans also picked up a Michigan seat held by Democratic Representative Elissa Slotkin, who successfully ran for an open Senate seat. And GOP challenger Gabe Evans narrowly defeated freshman Rep. Yadira Caraveo, D-Colo., less than 1 percentage point in the heavily Hispanic district north of Denver.
Management task
The narrow House victory is significant as Republicans turn to the governorship. When Trump and his congressional allies take the reins in January, they will have another rare opportunity to advance major policy initiatives through “reconciliation” — a secretive process that would allow the GOP to fast-track legislation without Democratic support.
Discussions about what reforms to implement began even before the election, with some Republicans trying to exploit the compromise. Trump tax cuts are expiring and others, such as Sen. Lindsey Graham, a Trump ally, have urged Republicans to pass border security legislation. It is not yet clear what will happen in this border bill, but Trump has repeatedly said he will “seal” the southern border. as president on day one and run”The largest deportation program in American history.”
Johnson in the final days of the campaign told supporters of “massive” reform of the Affordable Care Act He denied that Republicans would try to repeal Obamacare, which they failed to do in 2017, but it would be part of the GOP’s first 100-day agenda.
With very little wiggle room, Republicans are bound to face challenges. And Trump has already selected two members of the new majority to serve in his administration. Elise Stefanik of New York and Mike Waltz of Florida. Both are in solidly Republican districts where the party is likely to hold special elections to replace them, but vacancies could be a problem for Johnson once he’s gone.
The GOP held a small majority in this Congress, and it struggled to advance its agenda. Instead, the past two years have been defined by a successful conservative coup against California Speaker Kevin McCarthy. The firing of a New York Republican congressman and intra-party wrangling over GOP spending laws.
Johnson and Republicans will now have partners in the Senate majority and the White House, which they hope will allow them to rally behind Trump and put some of that infighting behind them. Johnson and his top lieutenants — Majority Leader Steve Scalise, a fellow Louisiana Republican, and Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn. – are all running unopposed for re-election to their top posts on Wednesday.
Johnson still needs 218 votes in the House on the first day of the new Congress in early January to win his first full term as speaker.
“If we have a unified government … if we have a bicameral approach — Republicans in both houses working together to develop and implement this agenda and President Trump leading the way — I think we’ll have less division across party lines. side,” Johnson said in a speech Interview with NBC News suspension of the Pennsylvania campaign before the election.
“I think everyone will want to be part of the majority that solves the country’s problems,” the speaker said. “And I think it will be very easy to manage in January.”