• The Republican majority in the House will be far smaller than the party had anticipated.
• Republicans also failed to capture control of the Senate after a poor performance in midterms.
• Biden’s party gained an unbreakable majority in the upper house.

Republicans seized control of the US House of Representatives from Democrats on Wednesday, according to network reports, narrowly establishing a legislative base to oppose President Joe Biden’s program for the final two years of his term — and leaving congressional authority divided.

The Republican majority in the House of Representatives will be far smaller than the party had anticipated, and Republicans also failed to capture control of the Senate after a historically poor performance in the midterm elections on November 8.

NBC and CNN predicted a Republican triumph with at least 218 seats in the 435-member House of Representatives — the magic number needed to assume control. This occurred one week after millions of Americans voted in the midterm elections, which normally result in a rejection of the president’s party.

The announcement was made one day after former president Donald Trump, who loomed large during the election cycle and whose support appeared to have doomed several of his party’s candidates, declared his candidacy for the White House.

With inflation soaring and Biden’s popularity plummeting, Republicans had planned for a “red wave” to sweep the nation, giving them control of both houses and an effective veto over the vast majority of Biden’s legislative initiatives.

In contrast, Democratic voters, energized by the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade and suspicious of Trump-backed candidates who publicly rejected the outcome of the 2020 presidential election, showed out in large numbers.

And the Republicans lost ground because moderate voters rejected their candidates for being too extreme.

Biden’s party gained an unbreakable majority in the upper house with 50 seats plus Vice President Kamala Harris’ tie-breaking vote after flipping a vital Senate seat in Pennsylvania and retaining two others in battleground states Arizona and Nevada.

A runoff election for the Georgia Senate scheduled for next month could eventually result in the Democrats increasing their control.

The Senate supervises the confirmation of federal judges and cabinet personnel, so having the 100-member body on Biden’s side will be extremely advantageous.

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‘Democrat rule is over’

Kevin McCarthy, the senior Republican in the House who won the party’s leadership vote by secret ballot, declared on Tuesday, “The era of one-party Democrat rule is over.” This put him in an ideal position to replace the Democrat Nancy Pelosi as the next speaker.

Andy Biggs, a member of the important, far-right Freedom Caucus, attempted to unseat the California congressman, age 57, who has been a senior member of the House Republican leadership since 2014.

However, prospective defections from the far right might hamper his approach when the entire chamber votes in January.

McCarthy now begins what is expected to be a grueling campaign to win the consequential floor vote on January 3, when the 435 newly elected members of the House of Representatives — Democrats and Republicans — choose their speaker, the third most important US political position after the president and vice president.

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