Republicans barely won the House. Can they direct it?

WASHINGTON – Republicans made their House win look like a loss by underperforming.

But even if they didn’t get control anywhere near the expected margin, they won.

And in the House of Representatives, even the narrow majority he can bid if he stands together to get 218 votes.

The big question going forward is whether Rep. Kevin McCarthy of California, who was named Tuesday to lead the new Republican majority, can win the required unit to perform critical tasks such as government funding, or whether hardline members of the far right will make life miserable for the new president and the House a unmanageable mess.

The probable win of one seat will allow Republicans to reclaim power — including the power to subpoena — to set the agenda, run committees and try to set fire to the president’s feet. Joe Biden with a series of promised investigations.

Despite his disappointing performance, Republicans are unlikely to feel compelled to partner with Biden and will no doubt push forward aggressively once they get their hands on the hammers.

For many, that was the goal of the election.

Your schedule is research, not legislation.

“We must be relentless in our oversight of this administration,” Rep. Steve Scalise of Louisiana, the No. 1 Republican, wrote in a letter to his colleagues. 2 in the House.

“From the politicization of the Justice Department to job-crushing regulations emanating from every agency, we need to shed some light on the political actions and failures of this administration.

For McCarthy, his party’s victory came in the worst possible way.

The much smaller-than-expected majority means there are fewer swing-district Republicans who may be reluctant to stir up chaos, leaving you more reliant on fiery-spirited extremists who won safe, ruby-red districts with the promise of a political warfare against Biden.

At the same time, it will have to protect less inflammatory recruits, such as newcomers from New York, who will henceforth be prime targets for Democrats.

Edge and mix could combine to almost make the house ungovernable.

“It’s going to be tough,” retired centrist Rep. Fred Upton, a Republican from Michigan, said of the task ahead of the new leaders, who are already facing demands from the right to accept restrictions that would severely limit his power.

“It’s going to be really tough, especially when it comes to producing results.”

The only outcomes that matter to many in the House majority are those that inflict political pain on Biden and Congressional Democrats, just as their MAGA constituents demand.

In a closed meeting of Republicans on Monday, right-wing lawmakers, including Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, vowed their leaders would investigate the president. Nancy Pelosi and to the Justice Department for its treatment of defendants jailed in connection with the January 6 attack on Capitol Hill.

But the new leaders cannot limit themselves to investigating.

They have yet to find some yes votes to pass spending bills and other laws that need to be passed to keep the government in operationwhen many of its members are very accustomed to voting “no” on almost everything.

Republicans have shut down government over spending disputes and have clashed with Democratic administrations over raising the federal debt limit after the rise and fall of Newt Ginrich in the House in the 1990s.

In the past, more government-minded Republicans like Upton could be trusted to step up and deliver the votes needed to resolve a crisis.

But the ranks of the pragmatists have been badly thinned, replaced by lawmakers who would love nothing more than to play the fiscal chicken, regardless of the risks to an already faltering economy.

House Republicans are already pushing the incoming team to agree to rule changes that could hamper leaders’ ability to introduce bills, an approach that could threaten necessary legislation such as a hike in the debt ceiling.

Republican leaders could – and probably would – seek Democratic votes, but too many compromises or cross-sector cooperation are likely to lead to a rebellion from within

Not to mention, Democrats in the House of Representatives, who feel good about their own election performance, won’t be in much of a hurry to bail out their troop Republican leaders without getting something in return.

The Democratic majority in the Senate will only make life difficult for the Speaker of the House.

Democrats are encouraged that they have been able to maintain — and potentially increase — a Senate majority against historical trends.

They want to flex those muscles by pushing through legislative initiatives like the ones they believe have won them.

Democratic control of the Senate also means that House committees won’t conduct parallel investigations into the administration as Republicans had hoped.

Sen. Chuck Schumer, DN.Y., who will remain Majority Leader, has called on Republicans to try working with Democrats on legislative initiatives, but it seems unlikely that Republicans in the House will want to take advantage of his offer. .

The division is too wide.

The gap between Republicans and Democrats just widened a bit even in the Senate.

When the Senate meets in January, the GOP ranks will not include Sens. Rob Portman of Ohio, Roy Blunt of Missouri or Richard Burr of North Carolina – traditional veteran Republicans including Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the minority leader, could be trusted to cast tough votes on bills that need to pass.

They will be replaced by Senators-elect JD Vance of Ohio, Eric Schmitt of Missouri and Ted Budd of North Carolina, all of whom have received enthusiastic support from former President Donald Trump.

The newcomers to the Senate will be joined by, among others, Senator-elect Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma, a congressman who belongs to the ultra-conservative party House Freedom Caucusand potentially Herschel Walker of Georgia, another Trump acolyte, if he prevails in the Dec. 6 runoff.

At the same time, McConnell is likely to come under constant attack from Trump, who has repeatedly called for his removal.

It has already faced a mini-rebellion within its own ranks, with a leadership challenge from Senator Rick Scott of Florida, who oversaw the Republican campaign arm of the Senate.

Though McConnell has prevailed, his actions will continue to come under close scrutiny as the Republican Party fights for his identity.

The election results are still being examined by both sides to discern voter messages, which could inform how party leaders fare over the next two years, with a presidential race on the horizon.

But one thing is already clear: With an almost non-existent majority in the House of Representatives, Republicans are facing a tough journey and it will be a challenge to do even the most basic job of Congress.

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