Republicans have gained control of the House of Representatives after one of the last remaining races was called Wednesday.
While there was no so-called “red wave” in this election cycle, it is only the third time in 50 years Republicans have flipped control. The GOP held onto a number of swing districts and notched surprising victories in others, flipping seats in states like Arizona, and deep blue states such as New York, and Oregon.
“Republicans have officially flipped the People’s House! Americans are ready for a new direction, and House Republicans are ready to deliver,” Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), the House minority leader, said in a statement.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Wednesday said she would address her caucus Thursday, outlying her plans to stay or possibly leave Congress. The 82-year-old leader had repeatedly insisted Democrats would keep control of the lower chamber, though projections pointed to Republicans taking control, red wave or not.
“This evening, the Speaker monitored returns in the three remaining critical states,” Pelosi’s deputy chief of staff, Drew Hammill, wrote in a tweet late Wednesday.
“The Speaker plans to address her future plans tomorrow to her colleagues,” Hammill added. “Stay tuned.”
Frustratingly slow vote counting from urban Democrat strongholds in Arizona and California delayed the final tally of which party would take control.
The 218th win for Republicans that of California Rep. Mike Garcia who defeated Democrat Christy Smith in the race for California’s 27th Congressional District. After the latest update, Garcia was ahead with 54.2 percent of the vote. Critics had asked, with such a sizable margin, why the race had not been called earlier, even after it was determined there was no statistical path for Smith to overtake Garcia.
“It is the honor of my lifetime to continue to serve #CA27 in Congress. I ran to fight for California families and protect the American Dream, and I look forward to working hard every day to continue that mission,” Garcia, 46, said in a statement.
Smith, 53, a California assemblywoman, had acknowledged earlier in the week that Garcia would likely come out on top.
Democrats have secured 210 seats in the next Congress as of Wednesday night. The latest call was for Rep. Jared Golden (D-Maine).
Majority Flips
Democrats have controlled the House since 2019, when they flipped dozens of seats in a blue wave but the margin shrank to just 220–212 at the time of the 2022 election.
Republicans plan to quickly take action once the new Congress starts. Their plan includes probing the origins of COVID-19, examining the U.S. response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and conducting oversight on the border crisis.
They have also said they will move to repeal the hiring of 87,000 new IRS workers, which was part of the Democrat’s Inflation Reduction Act; increase domestic energy production; and reduce crime.
President Joe Biden can veto any bills that reach his desk, and the continuation of a Democrat-majority Senate makes the job of House Republicans even harder.
Overriding a veto requires a two-thirds vote in each chamber—an unrealistic proposition for most pieces of legislation.
According to The Hill, Pelosi has been fairly quiet about her plans in the face of the GOP regaining control.
During an interview with ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday, she said she was not commenting “until this election is finished,” but told CNN’s “State of the Union” that her decision would “of course” come before Democrats are scheduled to hold leadership elections at the end of the month.
–Wire services
