Republicans will keep control of the House of Representatives, flipping several seats in crucial battleground states by incumbent Democrats. The projected victory follows the GOP’s Senate win, granting President-elect Donald Trump complete control to advance his agenda across both chambers of Congress.
How will the GOP majority and Trump’s cabinet shape the next term?
The New York Times reported that the Republican majority remains unclear, but preliminary counts confirm they will have a slight edge over Democrats. However, votes are still being counted in the West, with some key races too close to call.
In the aftermath of his election victory, Trump has hand-picked the people he wants in his cabinet, many of whom currently hold seats in the House. His most controversial pick was Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., whom he nominated Wednesday as his attorney general following Gaetz’s resignation, per the Times. Despite the GOP’s questionable leadership last year, House Speaker Mike Johnson vows to be ready to implement Trump’s agenda once he takes office.
“We’re going to raise an America First banner above this place,” Johnson said during a press conference at the Capitol on Tuesday. “The American people want us to implement and deliver that America First agenda, and we must do that while we have that energy and that excitement, beginning on the very first day of the Congress in the new year,” he later added.
Trump’s second term agenda and GOP strategy for success
Trump’s second term will be vastly different, but Johnson said he and his party will avoid the mistakes made in 2017.
“We are not going to make those mistakes again,” Johnson concluded. “We are prepared this time. And as we wind down the 118th Congress, we’ll be ready to take the ball and run full speed in the 119th Congress that begins in January.”
CNN reported that Trump’s agenda outlines a comprehensive plan for America, many elements of which were campaign promises made in the months leading up to the election. Mass deportation, closing the southern border and ending birthright citizenship, expansive tax cuts and climate change are just some of the areas he wants to put into action.
