Politics: Republicans narrowly win back control of the house

Picture Courtesy: SkyNews

Today, Republicans secured the 218 seats needed to win a majority in the lower chamber of the Congress as per CBC news. The party's majority in the House of Representatives is razor-thin, but it is enough to block President Joe Biden's agenda for the next two years.

This marks the return of a divided federal government, where Democrats have control of the senate and Republicans control the house. Split control of Washington was ushered in by last week's midterm elections, in which the Republicans - who had hoped to win back control of both chambers - underperformed expectations. The Republican party is now projected to win between 218-223 seats in the 435-seat House, according to CBS.

Kevin McCarthy, who was elected by rank-and-file Republicans to be their nominee to replace Democrat Nancy Pelosi as the next Speaker of the House on Tuesday, celebrated having "officially flipped" the chamber. He Tweeted Wednesday night, “Americans are ready for a new direction, and House Republicans are ready to deliver.”

President Joe Biden congratulated Mr McCarthy and offered to work with Republicans to deliver results for Americans. He said, “As I said last week, the future is too promising to be trapped in political warfare. The American people want us to get things done for them. They want us to focus on the issues that matter to them and on making their lives better.”