by WorldTribune Staff / 247 Real News November 6, 2024
Republicans rode the long coattails of President-elect Donald Trump to re-take control of the Senate on Tuesday while hoping to keep the momentum in the remaining races to maintain control of the House.
As of 1:45 p.m. on Wednesday, Republicans had 52 Senate seats to the Democrats’ 43. Five races remain to be called.
The GOP flipped seats in West Virginia (Jim Justice), Montana (Tim Sheehy), and Ohio (Bernie Moreno).
Senate Republicans are expected to elect a new leader next week as Kentucky’s Mitch McConnell steps down from the role after a record 18 years. His current deputy, Sen. John Thune of South Dakota, and former deputy, Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, are seen as among the top candidates to take the majority leader post when the new Congress begins.
“The Biden-Harris administration has forced the American people to endure four years of high prices, open borders, and chaos on the world stage,” Thune, the GOP whip, said in a statement. “Tonight, with Republicans reclaiming majority control of the U.S. Senate, we can begin to turn the page on this expensive and reckless chapter of American history.”
Cornyn said he looks “forward to working with President Trump and our new conservative majority.”
“We will restore the important role of Senate committees and reestablish the regular appropriations process,” he said in a statement, referring to the normal process for funding the government. “And we will return power back to the members; there will be no more backroom deals or forced votes on bills without adequate time for review, debate, and amendment.”
In the House, Republicans won 201 seats and Democrats 183 as of 1:30 p.m. There were 51 races yet to be called. It takes 218 to get the majority.
House Speaker Mike Johnson on Tuesday night said he is anticipating full Republican control of Washington, D.C.
“As more results come in it is clear that, as we have predicted all along, Republicans are poised to have unified government in the White House, Senate, and House,” Johnson said in a statement Wednesday morning.
He said Republican promises of “secure borders, lower costs, peace through strength, and a return to common sense drove Americans to vote red across the country.”
“House Republicans have been successful in securing critical flips in swing states including Pennsylvania and Michigan, while our battle-tested incumbents have secured re-election from coast to coast,” Johnson continued. “The latest data and trends indicate that when all the votes are tabulated, Republicans will have held our majority, even though we faced a map with 18 Biden-won seats.”
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