The Republicans have narrowly clinched control of the US House of Representatives on Wednesday, after an anticipated “red wave” was reduced to a ripple in the midterm elections.
Major news outlets called the race on Wednesday evening following results from California's 27th congressional district, where now representative-elect Mike Garcia was projected to win.
Right before their control of the chamber was solidified, House Republicans re-elected Kevin McCarthy as their leader on Tuesday, despite dissent from the far-right “Freedom Caucus”.
Mr McCarthy on Tuesday said the Republican majority will be able to “stop [President Joe] Biden’s socialist agenda, fire [current House Speaker] Nancy Pelosi”.
“We’re going to have the ability to change America,” Mr McCarthy said as he walked into the House Republican meeting.
The Republicans did not sweep the Congress in the way they had promised to in the run-up to the critical midterm cycle, and Democrats maintained their slim majority in the Senate.
But a Republican House will still have the capacity to create roadblocks for Democrats and even derail Mr Biden's legislative agenda.
Ukraine
Some Republicans have hinted at enacting hurdles for the administration's support to Ukraine, which has so far amounted to at least $19.3 billion since Russia's February invasion.
Last month, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, who was re-elected as his party's leader in the chamber this week, commented that a Republican Congress would not write a “blank cheque” for Ukraine.
On the House floor on Wednesday, far-right representative Marjorie Taylor Greene called for an audit on aid from Washington to Ukraine.
"Including aid money, and any other aid monies that have been given to the Ukrainian government to defend their national security where our national security has been ignored," she said.
Afghanistan
Mr Biden faced criticism over the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan last year, after he followed through on a deal his predecessor Donald Trump made with the Taliban.
Republicans have promised to investigate the withdrawal that led to the deaths of 13 US troops.
Jim Banks, a Republican veteran of the war in Afghanistan, told Fox News Sunday that “no one has ever been held accountable” for the withdrawal.
“There’s never been an investigation into the pullout of Afghanistan that cost the lives of 13 of our heroes,” said Mr Banks, who is among those in his party vying for the House majority whip position.
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Taliban fighters and supporters celebrate at Ahmad Shah Massoud square in Kabul on August 31, 2022. AFP -
A banner hung in Kabul by Taliban authorities to mark the first anniversary of the departure of US-led foreign forces from Afghanistan. AFP -
Taliban fighters set off fireworks near the former US embassy in Kabul to celebrate the anniversary. AFP -
The Taliban government declared August 31 a national holiday in Afghanistan, as part of the celebrations marking the first anniversary of the end of two decades of foreign presence. EPA -
Taliban fighters take to the streets to celebrate. AFP -
Taliban fighters in front of the US embassy in Kabul. AP Photo -
Children with Taliban flags celebrate the anniversary. AP Photo -
A Taliban convoy in Kabul on Wednesday. Reuters -
The Taliban celebrate the first anniversary of the US withdrawal outside the former US embassy in Kabul. EPA -
Taliban fighters celebrate the anniversary of the US withdrawal. EPA -
Celebrations in Kandahar. EPA -
A celebratory parade in Kandahar. EPA -
Taliban fighters and supporters during a parade in Kandahar. AFP -
Taliban fighters and supporters in Kabul. AP Photo -
A Taliban fighter during the anniversary parade in Kandahar. AFP
The debt ceiling and energy
Republicans have largely aimed to cut back on federal spending and “regain energy independence”.
The party has been unified in their opposition to Mr Biden and the Democratic Party's sweeping spending bills aimed at combating climate change, expanding healthcare coverage and other policy initiatives.
In recent weeks, leading Republicans have touted the federal debt limit as a means of blocking additional spending.
Leading Republican Rick Scott on Tuesday urged his fellow party members in the Senate not to raise the US government’s debt limit until Democrats agree to spending cuts.
This is raising the spectre of the 2011 stand-off that brought the US to the brink of default, triggering the first-ever downgrade of US debt and a stock market slide, Reuters reported.
Democrats have been lobbying to increase the legal limit before the next Congress takes office.
In the House Republican conference’s midterm messaging and policy platform, called the “Commitment to America”, conservative members of Congress vowed to “regain American energy independence and lower prices at the pump” by maxing out the production of domestic-made energy and enacting faster approval in the permit process for fossil fuel projects.
During a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing on Russian influence on Wednesday, Republican August Pfluger further condemned the Biden administration's energy policy and called for permit reform.
"The permitting reform needs to happen ... we have pipelines that are two or three miles from being completed, yet there is a war domestically on our own production," he said.
Taxes
House Republicans have also pushed for “pro-growth tax and deregulatory policies” that they argue would “increase take-home pay, create good-paying jobs and bring stability to the economy”, one leader wrote of the party's House agenda in an op-ed.
Some have pushed for an extension to tax cuts included in Mr Trump’s 2017 signature tax law that slashed corporate tax rates.
That could result in codifying trillions of dollars' worth of lower taxes.
The conservative party is also moving to advance legislation that would make permanent the 2017 tax rates paid by individuals.
Increased oversight of Biden administration
Republicans have also promised increased oversight over the Biden administration, which could mean a laundry list of congressional investigations, subcommittees and hearings on Capitol Hill, adding to politicians' agendas.
“Oversight is a primary function of the Congress. And for the last few years, there has been no oversight of the Biden agenda and the Biden administration,” Mr Banks told Fox News Sunday.
“So that has to be a focal point of every single committee in the Congress, especially in the House under Republican control.”
Mr Banks and other members of his party have also raised the possibility of investigations into the origins of Covid-19 and the ensuing pandemic lockdowns as well as a probe into Mr Biden's son Hunter's business dealings.
January 6, 2021, Capitol insurrection
The House select January 6 investigative committee, which has helped piece together the events surrounding the 2021 deadly insurrection at the Capitol, is set to dissolve on January 3.
Republicans are all but certain to discontinue the work of the committee once the old Congress dissolves.
That would also end any legal battles aimed at compelling Mr Trump to comply with the committee subpoena for him to testify.
The committee on Monday said he had “failed to comply” with its subpoena for documents and evidence.
“In the days ahead, the committee will evaluate next steps in the litigation and regarding the former President’s non-compliance,” Democrat Bennie Thompson and Republican Liz Cheney said in a statement.
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'There will come a day when Donald Trump is gone, but your dishonour will remain.' Congresswoman and January 6 committee vice chairwoman Liz Cheney to Republican colleagues who have defended Mr Trump's claims of election fraud. AFP -
'January 6 was the culmination of an attempted coup - a brazen attempt, as one rioter put it shortly after January 6 - to overthrow the government.' Committee chairman Bennie Thompson. EPA -
Mr Trump 'was willing to sacrifice our republic to prolong his presidency. I can imagine no more dishonourable acts by a president.' Republican Congressman Adam Kinzinger. AFP -
Donald Trump had this 'arsenal of allegations. I went through them piece by piece to say, no, they were not true'. Former acting deputy attorney general Richard Donoghue. EPA -
'There were no votes to find.' Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger after Donald Trump asked him and his deputy, Gabriel Sterling, to 'find 11,780' votes that could flip Georgia in the president's favour. AFP -
Competing against Donald Trump’s lies was like a 'shovel trying to empty the ocean'. Gabriel Sterling, Georgia Secretary of State chief operating officer. AFP -
'As an American, I was disgusted. It was unpatriotic, it was un-American. We were watching the Capitol building get defaced over a lie.' Cassidy Hutchinson, an aide to then White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, speaking about the insurrection. AFP -
!['I told him [Donald Trump] that the stuff his people were shovelling out to the public was bull***t.' Former attorney general William Barr. AP](https://www.thenationalnews.com/resizer/v2/RLINK2AWKRFONAWRZ7TNQF6VI4.jpg?smart=true&auth=898bee20e87c352f4801c4275eab58720719d25c3b0343a94bb0b4d88c1d38f4&width=400&height=225)
'I told him [Donald Trump] that the stuff his people were shovelling out to the public was bull***t.' Former attorney general William Barr. AP -
'I respect attorney general Barr. So, I accepted what he was saying.' Ivanka Trump, former White House senior adviser. AP -
'We fight like hell. And if you don't fight like hell, you're not going to have a country any more.' Donald Trump on January 6, 2021. Reuters -
A Confederate battle flag that reads 'Come and Take It' and shows a military-style rifle flies as rioters storm the Capitol on January 6, 2001. Reuters -
A Trump supporter sprays smoke. Reuters -
Police attempt to push the mob back. AFP -
The pro-Trump mob swarms the Capitol as police release tear gas. Reuters -
Protesters clash with police. Reuters -
Pro-Trump protesters storm into the US Capitol. Reuters -
A police flash-bang blast lights up the Capitol. Reuters -
Before the insurrection, Mr Trump is seen on a screen speaking to supporters during a rally to contest the certification of the 2020 US presidential election results. Reuters -
People march with those who say they are members of the Proud Boys as they attend a rally in Washington in support of former president Donald Trump. AP
!['I told him [Donald Trump] that the stuff his people were shovelling out to the public was bull***t.' Former attorney general William Barr. AP](https://www.thenationalnews.com/resizer/v2/RLINK2AWKRFONAWRZ7TNQF6VI4.jpg?smart=true&auth=898bee20e87c352f4801c4275eab58720719d25c3b0343a94bb0b4d88c1d38f4&width=800&height=450)
Impeachment
House Republican Conference chairwoman Elise Stefanik suggested recently that impeachment of Mr Biden would be “on the table” in a Republican-controlled House.
Similar threats from other party members have largely been viewed as vengeance over two Democratic-led impeachments of Donald Trump: the first for asking Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to investigate Mr Biden and allegedly issuing a “quid pro quo”, and the second over the Capitol insurrection.
“They don't know on what basis yet, because all they're trying to do is to even the score about the fact that Donald Trump was impeached twice,” Democratic strategist Craig Varoga told The National.
But many Republicans have moved to quell any impeachment threats.
“I am not interested in playing tit for tat. I am not interested in retaliation. Impeachment has been weaponised over the years, and we’ve seen that,” Nancy Mace, a representative of South Carolina, said in October.
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President Donald Trump speaks at his Merry Christmas Rally at the Kellogg Arena on December 18, 2019 in Battle Creek, Michigan. While Trump spoke at the rally the House of Representatives voted, mostly along party lines, to impeach the president for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. Getty Images/AFP -
US Democratic Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi presides over the votes to officially impeach US President Donald Trump in Washington, DC, 18 December 2019. EPA -
US Democratic Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi presides over the votes to officially impeach US President Donald Trump in Washington, DC, 18 December 2019. AFP -
US President Donald Trump speaks to supporters during a campaign rally in Battle Creek, Michigan, US, December 18, 2019. Reuters -
US Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler hold a press conference after the House passed Resolution 755, Articles of Impeachment Against President Donald Trump, in Washington, DC, on December 18, 2019. AFP -
A couple watches the impeachement debate in the House of Representatives from a Times Square hotel lobby in New York on December 18, 2019. AFP -
Democratic Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi walks through Statuary Hall after the US House of Representatives passed two articles of impeachment against US President Donald Trump in Washington, DC, 18 December 2019. EPA -
US President Donald Trump walks to the lectern as supporters cheer him on during a campaign rally in Battle Creek, Michigan, December 18, 2019. Reuters -
US President Donald Trump attends a campaign rally in Battle Creek, Michigan, December 18, 2019. Reuters -
Supporters attend US President Donald Trump's campaign rally in Battle Creek, Michigan, December 18, 2019. Reuters -
Anti-Trump protesters gather in Monument Park on December 18, 2019 in Battle Creek, Michigan. Getty Images/AFP -
Supporters react at US President Donald Trump's campaign rally in Battle Creek, Michigan, December 18, 2019. Reuters -
Supporters react at US President Donald Trump's campaign rally in Battle Creek, Michigan, December 18, 2019. Reuters -
A man dressed as Santa Claus holds an impeachment protest sign outside the US Capitol in Washington, DC, USA, 18 December 2019. EPA -
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi addresses reporters at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, December 18, 2019, after the House of Representatives voted to impeach President Donald Trump. She is joined from left by House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, House Committee on Oversight and Reform Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler, House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Eliot Engel, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal, and House Financial Services Committee Chairwoman Maxine Waters. AP Photo -
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez talks to colleagues on the floor of the House after the House of Representatives approved two counts of impeachment against US President Donald Trump in Washington, December 18, 2019. Reuters -
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi looks on during a press conference following the impeachment vote of US President Donald Trump in Washington, DC, USA, 18 December 2019. EPA -
House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff holds a press conference after the House passed Resolution 755, Articles of Impeachment Against President Donald Trump in Washington, DC, on December 18, 2019. AFP -
House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff responds to questions during a press conference following the impeachment vote of US President Donald Trump at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, USA, 18 December 2019. EPA -
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, flanked by House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler, left, and House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Eliot Engel, addresses reporters in Washington after the House of Representatives voted to impeach President Donald Trump. AP Photo
