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More than a week after Election Day, the Republican Party has officially regained control of the House of Representatives. The Associated Press called the GOP’s key 218th seat Wednesday evening, ensuring control of the chamber.
The GOP had long anticipated winning control of the House in the 2022 elections, as midterms have historically benefited the party not in control of the White House. But losses in key districts that came into focus on election night put a damper on GOP spirits, turning the projected red wave Republicans had been teasing for months into something closer to a ripple (The Hill).
“No one ever said this thing was going to be easy. I always said that all I could guarantee was that we’re going to win the majority,” National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman Tom Emmer (Minn.) told reporters last week. “How wide and how deep the majority was going to be was totally up to the voters.”
The Hill: House Democrats assess a transformed Washington after losing the majority.
The House win comes as the GOP faced more internal post-midterm tests on Wednesday when Senators gathered for leadership elections and the party grappled with former President Trump once again mounting a presidential campaign. Republicans are facing internal discord after they secured a narrow House majority but failed to flip the Senate, leading members to question whether the party is in need of a leadership overhaul.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Wednesday fended off the most serious threat to his position to date when he defeated National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman Rick Scott (Fla.) in the GOP leadership vote, writes The Hill’s Alexander Bolton.
Now McConnell has the tough task of healing the fractures in his caucus exposed during an acrimonious meeting Tuesday. McConnell also faces the continued threat to his leadership posed by Trump, who fueled Scott’s challenge by repeatedly calling for McConnell’s ouster.
▪ The : Republican infighting roils Congress as midterms fallout continues.
▪ Roll Call: McConnell prevails in Senate GOP leadership contest.
Two years after rallying behind Trump as the GOP’s uncontested champion, Republicans on Capitol Hill are sounding a very different tune as Trump seeks the White House once again in 2024, write The Hill’s Mike Lillis and Mychael Schnell. While a number of his staunchest supporters have endorsed the former president, a long list of others expressed an openness to back an alternative candidate, said it’s too early to endorse anyone, or just wanted to avoid the topic altogether.
The lukewarm response to Trump’s announcement could provide a key opening for other Republicans still on the fence about whether to challenge him in 2024, writes The Hill’s Max Greenwood. The former president’s seemingly weakened position in the GOP, which could open the door even wider to a hard-charging Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), riding high on his midterm win and with the wind at his back — as well as to other would-be challengers.
Trump has launched his third presidential campaign at a moment of political and legal vulnerability, writes The Hill’s Niall Stanage. The midterm elections have tarnished his brand, it’s plausible he gets indicted related to the FBI raid on Mar-a-Lago, and DeSantis is a rising rival. The GOP’s internal debate over Trump is also permeating debates about Republican congressional leadership — making for a fractured party that the former president might struggle to pull together behind him.
▪ Axios: Donor Stephen Schwarzman comes out against Trump in major defection.
▪ The : Ivanka Trump says she won’t be part of her father’s campaign.
Rep. David Cicilline (D-R.I.) is eyeing legislation that would bar Trump from serving in office under the 14th Amendment “for leading an insurrection against the United States.”
Cicilline, who served as an impeachment manager during the former president’s first impeachment, on Tuesday sent a letter to his Democratic colleagues previewing the bill and soliciting co-sponsors for the measure. It’s unclear when he would introduce the legislation (The Hill).
Trump’s 2024 White House bid puts a spotlight on President Biden, who has not yet officially announced he will seek another term and has kept a comfortable distance from reacting to Trump while in office, The Hill’s Alex Gangitano and Brett Samuels report. The president has indicated he has no intention of getting into a mud-slinging contest with his predecessor or giving him oxygen as he tries to mount a comeback. But the White House and Democratic National Committee have signaled they are prepared to defend Biden’s record and remind the country of Trump’s, leaving Biden to do the work of being president in the meantime.
The New York Times: Trump is running in 2024. The White House has a plan.
Georgia’s Senate race runoff is three weeks away and Democrats are hoping big names like former President Obama could help put incumbent Sen. Raphael Warnock over the top against GOP candidate Hershel Walker (The Hill).
Warnock on Tuesday joined a lawsuit that seeks to overturn a rule limiting Saturday early voting in the runoff election (The New York Times).
▪ Politico: GOP civil war spreads to Georgia runoff.
▪ Vox: The GOP had terrible Senate candidates and it really did sink them.
Related Articles
▪ NBC News: Michael Flynn ordered to testify in Trump election interference probe.
▪ Vox: Where Trump and DeSantis actually disagree.
▪ Politico: Networks limit Trump’s airtime during 2024 announcement.
▪ FiveThirtyEight: A historic number of women will be governors next year.
▪ The New York Times: In Arizona, Kari Lake’s next move splits factions of the GOP.
LEADING THE DAY
➤ CONGRESS
The Senate on Wednesday voted to start debate on legislation that would codify same-sex marriage protections, paving the way for the bill to pass by the end of the week. Senators voted 62-37 to advance the measure, with every Democrat joined by 12 Republicans. The chamber is expected to vote again today to invoke cloture, setting up a final vote by the end of the week.
“This legislation unites Americans,” Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), the lone openly lesbian senator, said on the Senate floor before the vote. “With the Respect For Marriage Act, we can ease the fear for millions of same-sex and interracial couples have that their freedoms and their rights could be stripped away… And this will give millions of loving couples the certainty, the dignity and the respect that they need and that they deserve.”
A vote on the original bill in late September was postponed until after the midterms because of a lack of Republican support prior to Election Day. GOP Senators came onboard with the bill Monday after a group of five senators, headed by Baldwin and Susan Collins (R-Maine), unveiled an amendment that contained religious freedom provisions (The Hill).
