Results: Republicans win control of the US House of Representatives
On election night, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy told GOP supporters that when they woke up the next day, "they will be in the majority and Nancy Pelosi will be in the minority."
This result took longer than expected - the GOP's expected "red wave" failed to appear on Election Day - but after a week of waiting, the Republican Party won control of the House of Representatives on Tuesday, November 15, 2022.
However, not many races have been called by the Resolution Office, and it is expected that Republicans will command a slim majority in the 118th Congress.
McCarthy, who faced a leadership challenge from Representative Andy Bigs and the House Liberty Caucus, was elected by his peers on Tuesday to continue his role as GOP leader. He is about to replace Representative Nancy Pelosi as Speaker of the House in January, although that is not guaranteed.
McCarthy referred to his "party's commitment to America" as a blueprint for how the Republican Party should operate in the House. But the scattered document is silent or vague on some key issues lawmakers will face in the coming months.
At the top of the list will be raising the federal debt ceiling. Conservatives have vowed to use the vote as leverage to force the Biden administration to cut spending. A similar standoff during the Obama administration led credit agencies to slash the federal government's credit, illustrating how the threat of a debt default can have dire economic consequences.
Republicans have promised for months that they will defend investigations into the Hunter Biden affair, the Biden administration's chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan, and the origins of the COVID-19 virus. It's unclear how they plan to face off after coming out of the midterm with a much smaller majority than expected. Before the majority was confirmed on Tuesday, a reporter noted that top GOP lawmakers are rallying around how to proceed with the COVID-related investigations.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Green, a far-right member of Georgia, has also led calls to impeach Biden. So far, McCarthy has rejected such a move, but many conservatives view the impeachment as retaliation for Trump's impeachment.
McCarthy also promised to restore commission functions stripped from Green and Representative Paul Gosar of Arizona. In retaliation, the leading Republican in the House of Representatives pledged to remove Democrats Eric Swalwell, Adam Schiff of California, and Ilhan Omar of Minnesota from the committee's duties.
The 2022 midterm elections were the first to be held after the redistricting and division that occurred following the results of the 2020 census.
The division resulted in six states—Oregon, Montana, Texas, Colorado, Florida, and North Carolina—acquiring additional counties. Seven states - West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, New York, California, and Illinois - lost seats in Congress.
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