Republicans will maintain their slim grip on power in the House of Representatives giving President-elect Donald Trump and the GOP total control of Congress.
The ‘trifecta’ in the U.S. government adds to the total annihilation of the Democrats in the 2024 elections and has sparked an internal civil war about how they move forward.
It opens the door for Republicans to have unchecked power to push through all of their policies alongside Trump in his first two years in office.
Republicans officially got over the 218-seat threshold for a majority in the 435-member chamber over a week since the election.
It will be the sixth time in 90 years where the party hasn’t had control of a single arm in the federal government.
The stunning clean sweep comes days after Trump’s White House victory over Vice President Kamala Harris and Republicans successfully flipping the Senate with key wins in West Virginia, Ohio and Montana.
Republicans have maintained control of the House since the 2022 midterm elections.
It takes 218 for a majority in the 435-seat chamber, with three vacancies in Ohio, California and New York that will not be filled until special elections in 2025.
Now, Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., is vying to keep the gavel he won a year ago after Kevin McCarthy was spectacularly ousted.
Trump backed Johnson during a meeting with House Republicans on Wednesday on Capitol Hill.
‘Isn’t it nice to win?,’ he told his party members to great applause. ‘It’s nice to win.’
The Republicans’ dominance started in Michigan. A seat held by Democrat Rep. Elissa Stlotkin, who won the state’s Senate seat, was flipped red by Tom Barrett.
Republicans were also able to flip critical seats in Pennsylvania and North Carolina.
Democrats, on the other hand, had better success against GOP incumbents in New York.
Still, key races still yet to be called across New York and California are being closely watched in the Republican bid to grow their party’s grip on power in the House.
But in the end, the GOP was able to ward off the many Democratic challenges coast to coast.
Conservatives now control the legislative, executive, and the judicial branches of the federal government fully during Trump’s first years in office, giving him sweeping control.
A Republican supermajority could pass an extension to Trump’s tax cuts that he passed during his first term.
They also may look to pass legislation to make Trump’s tariff proposals a reality.
Republicans may also take more robust action against transgender issues involving schools and sports, which Trump and the GOP have spoken about often on the campaign trails.
Already with control of the Senate Republicans will be able to dictate approvals of federal judges and cabinet positions like Secretary of State and Secretary of Defense.
If a Supreme Court vacancy arrises, the Senate handles that too.
During Trump’s last presidency the Senate was controlled by the GOP, and the former president was able to help appoint three of the court’s nine sitting justices – which has had a major impact on the ideological slant of the body.
In addition to winning the White House, Republicans took control of the Senate.
Speaking to the Republican lawmakers Wednesday, Trump also hinted he’d be available for a third term, telling them jokingly: ‘I suspect I won’t be running again unless you say “He’s so good we’ve got to figure something else out.”‘
The joke drew laughter from the Republican lawmakers.
Congress would have to amend the Constitution if Trump wanted to serve more than two terms.
Trump, who endorsed Mike Johnson for House Speaker during the event, also had warm words for his party.
‘I just want to thank everybody,’ the president-elect said. ‘You’ve been incredible. We worked with a lot of you.’
The sweeping outcome for Republicans will force Democrats to rethink their strategy after believing they could turn the chamber blue.
Previously, leaders like Nancy Pelosi and Hakeem Jeffries seemed bullish that they had the message needed to sway voters away from Republicans.
As Donald Trump celebrated his victory over Vice President Kamala Harris on Election Night, he lauded the gains made by Republicans in the Senate, with an eye to retaining control of the House.
‘It was amazing to look at all of those victories. Nobody expected that. Nobody,’ Trump said about Republican victories across the country, citing the red wave giving Republicans a majority in the Senate.
‘You have some great senators and some great new senators,’ he said. ‘And it also looks like we’ll be keeping control of the House of Representatives.’
The final results of the congressional races are not conclusive, but Speaker Johnson flew to Palm Beach, Florida, to celebrate with the ex-president on Tuesday.
‘I want to thank Mike Johnson. I think he’s doing a terrific job,’ Trump added.
The newly elected congressional members will be officially sworn in during ceremonies in Washington come January 2025.
With the majority already solidified in the Senate, the upper chamber conducted leadership elections Wednesday.
John Thune emerged as the winner who will usher in Donald Trump’s ambitious GOP majority in Congress after a private vote.
Thune, 63, will replace outgoing Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky after the 82-year-old announced he would be stepping down from the leadership role.
He successfully fended off a left-field challenge from Sen. Rick Scott of Florida who had the backing of Trump’s trusted advisor billionaire Elon Musk and other MAGA faithful.
Thune and Trump have had a complicated relationship over the years and many in the president-elect’s orbit didn’t want him in charge of the MAGA agenda.
He called on Trump to exit the 2016 presidential race after the infamous Access Hollywood tape was leaked and was critical of his alleged attempts to overturn the 2020 election results.
But in recent months, Thune has made his support for Trump known including by becoming one of the first to endorse him during the primary and the two have a better relationship and they reportedly talked after his victory Wednesday.
Their communication will be critical as Thune will be tasked with leading all of Trump’s Cabinet picks through the Senate confirmation process.
