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Politics and Government News
Deirdre Walsh, NPR and Susan Davis, NPR

Republicans retain their hold of the House, clinching full control of Congress

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The U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 6, the day after Election Day.
The U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 6, the day after Election Day.
Bloomberg/Getty Images

Republicans have officially won a full trifecta of power in Washington, D.C., following GOP victories in several key U.S. House contests.

Recent race calls by The Associated Press guarantee Republicans a narrow majority in the House and a three-seat majority in the Senate.

The campaign for control of the House was waged on a narrow playing field of roughly three dozen competitive districts. While the presidential campaign was centered in seven purple states in the Midwest and the Sun Belt, the contest for the House featured a cluster of critical swing races in the blue states of New York and California.

President-elect Donald Trump will once again have allies on Capitol Hill in place to enact key items on his agenda, like border security. Republicans are also already planning an extension of the tax cuts Trump enacted in 2017 — the last time he and his party had control of the White House and Congress.

The news of full congressional control came hours after House Republicans selected Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., for his first full term in the role. Johnson must still be elected with 218 votes on the House floor on Jan. 3, 2025. An expected narrow majority means Johnson will need near unanimous support from GOP members to be reelected.

Republicans picked Johnson to lead the party in the House just over a year ago, after former Speaker Kevin McCarthy was removed by his own members.

Johnson will work alongside Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., who was elected to lead the 53-47 GOP majority in the Senate next year. Thune succeeds Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., who announced earlier this year that he would step aside from party leadership after nearly 20 years.

Thune told reporters that his priority will be advancing Trump's agenda.

"This Republican team is united. We are one team, we are excited to reclaim the majority and get to work with our colleagues in the House to enact President Trump's agenda," Thune said Wednesday after the closed-door election. "We have a mandate from American people — a mandate not only to clean up the mess left by the Biden-Harris-Schumer agenda, but also to deliver on President Trump's priorities."

Copyright 2024, NPR