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Bochen Han

The Republican Party was projected to retain a majority in the US House of Representatives, giving it control of Congress for the next two years and paving the way for President-elect Donald Trump to advance his agenda.
A Republican majority in the Senate was clear soon after results started pouring in on Election Day, but many US research firms and outlets waited until Wednesday to call control of the House.
CNN, Edison Research, NBC and Associated Press projected on Wednesday that Republicans had secured the 218 seats needed for a majority in the chamber. Data provider Decision Desk HQ projected the same on Monday.
Vote-counting in tight races in multiple states including Arizona and California had prevented an earlier call.


The final seat tally for each party is still unclear, with several races still too close to call. Going into Election Day, the Republicans had a 220-212 edge over the Democrats.
Republicans had won 53 seats in the 100-seat Senate, as of Thursday.
Control of the House, the lower chamber, gives a party the power to initiate spending legislation and launch investigations and impeachment proceedings against government officials. The Senate has exclusive authority to confirm presidential nominations and ratify treaties.
Even before control of the chamber was confirmed, House Speaker Mike Johnson said that congressional Republicans were planning an “ambitious” 100-day agenda with Trump, who he said was “thinking big” about his legacy. Johnson won an endorsement from Trump on Wednesday to continue his role as House Speaker.
Unified governance has produced some of the most significant laws in recent administrations. Under Democratic control of Congress in the first two years of US President Joe Biden’s administration, the White House advanced the Inflation Reduction Act to strengthen the US transition to green energy, as well as the Chips and Science Act, which sought to revitalise the US semiconductor industry amid concerns about a conflict in Taiwan, the global leader in advanced chip production.
During the first two years of his first term, Trump signed legislation lowering corporate tax rates and rolling back parts of former president Barack Obama’s signature Affordable Care Act.




Republican control of both chambers, however, does not mean that there won’t be intraparty disagreements.
With a projected slim majority in the House and a three-seat majority in the Senate, Speaker Johnson and other Republican leaders may have to rally the party behind contentious proposals like additional assistance for Ukraine.
Senator Bill Hagerty of Tennessee, reportedly considered for top national security positions in the Trump White House, has been a consistent vote against increased funding, while Senator Roger Wicker of Mississippi, who is likely to play a major role on the chamber’s Armed Services Committee, has pushed for more military support for Ukraine.
Republicans are divided on the extent to which they want to maintain a strong presence in Europe overall, with a growing contingent of “Asia First” Republicans wanting to pivot to China more aggressively.
Fault lines have emerged as well on revoking China’s preferential trade status. Some Republicans like former Trump economic adviser Clete Willems have argued the move would be a “catastrophic” mistake and others like Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas have strongly supported the action.
Some senators, including Cotton, have gone so far as to push for an end to the long-standing US policy of strategic ambiguity toward Taiwan. This would run counter to the US’ one-China policy, in which Washington acknowledges Beijing’s stance that the self-governed island is part of the nation.
Most countries, including the US, do not recognise Taiwan as an independent state, but Washington opposes any attempt by the mainland to take it by force and remains committed to supplying it with weapons.
“There are a lot of trade-offs that they are going to have a difficult time making,” said Robert Manning, a distinguished fellow at the Washington-based Stimson Centre, referring to the Republican Party.
“There’s a basic tension between Trump, the transactional deal maker, and the sort of anti-China people who want to decouple entirely from China and make life as difficult as possible for the Chinese Communist Party,” he said.


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News

US Elections

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United States & Canada

With Republicans retaking the US Senate, the party controls both legislative chambers


With Republicans retaking the US Senate, the party controls both legislative chambers.
