Washington: Donald Trump's Republican Party has wrested control of the 435-member US House of Representatives from the ruling Democratic Party with a razor-thin majority, setting the stage for a showdown with Joe Biden in the next two years of his presidency.
The victory gives Republicans the power to rein in Biden’s agenda, as well as to launch politically damaging probes against his administration and family, though it falls far short of the “red wave” the party had hoped for.
The final call came after more than a week of ballot counting, when Edison Research projected Republicans had won the 218 seats they needed to control the House. Republican victory in California’s 27th Congressional district took the party over the line.
The party’s current House leader, Kevin McCarthy, may have a challenging road ahead as he will need his restive caucus to hold together on critical votes, including funding the government and military at a time when former US President Donald Trump has launched another run for the White House.
“Americans are ready for a new direction, and House Republicans are ready to deliver,” Kevin McCarthy said on Twitter. The loss takes away some of Biden’s power in Washington but he congratulated McCarthy and said he would work across the aisle to deliver results.
US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the first woman to hold that powerful post, said she will step down as the chamber’s Democratic leader as her allies prepared a passing of the torch to Representative Hakeem Jeffries.
