After the Midterms, the US Congress is divided. While the Senate remains in the hands of the Democrats, the Republicans were able to win back the House of Representatives. The next two years are therefore likely to be characterized by standstill.
According to US media, the Republicans have gained control of the House of Representatives, while Biden’s Democrats defended their majority in the Senate in the midterm elections to Congress. Congress is now split between Republicans and Democrats. According to forecasts by the major US television stations, the Republicans will in future make up at least 218 of the 435 members of the House of Representatives and thus the majority. However, their victory was less clear than the party had hoped. The mid-term election of a US president by voters has traditionally been used to punish the president’s party. In view of the high inflation and poor poll numbers for Biden, the Republicans had opted for a so-called “red wave”. If TV projections are confirmed, Biden’s Democrats will have the best result for an incumbent president’s party in a midterm election in more than 20 years.
The two chambers of the American Parliament have different tasks. The House of Representatives is comparable to the German Bundestag. The 435 MPs are elected every two years by the citizens for their respective constituency. They vote on laws and have a control function over the President. In this regard, they can also initiate impeachment proceedings against the head of state. The Senate has only 100 members, two from all 50 states. It doesn’t matter how big the states are and how many people live in them. Similar to the Federal Council, the senators represent the interests of the states. Unlike in Germany, here too the members are elected directly. The chamber has significantly more tasks than its German counterpart. The Senate also controls the President, votes on the appointment of ministers and senior judges, and ratifies international treaties. For a law to come into force, both chambers must pass the draft in an identical version.
Kevin McCarthy is set to become chairman of the House of Representatives
Biden congratulated House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy and said he would work together “in the service of the American people.” The president described last week’s midterm congressional elections as a “strong rejection of election denial, political violence and intimidation.” McCarthy wrote on Twitter that US citizens are ready for a change of direction “and House Republicans are ready to deliver.”
The 57-year-old California MP could be elected the new Chamber of Congress leader in January, replacing Nancy Pelosi at the helm of the House of Representatives. McCarthy has moved significantly to the right under the Trump administration. Nevertheless, the “Freedom Caucus,” a right-wing extremist wing of the party, could thwart his plans. The group endorsed Andy Biggs from Arizona as a candidate. Outgoing Chairwoman Pelosi stressed that the Democrats would “continue to play a leading role in supporting the President’s program” given the weak Republican majority.
However, the weak majority should not only be an advantage for the Democrats, but also for the extreme grouping of the Republican party. While not making up the bulk of the faction, the Freedom Caucus wields more power than the numbers suggest. Many of his followers reject any form of state intervention. Their main focus is on making amends for what they see as a stolen 2020 election. Instead of helping to shape the legislature, MPs will probably mainly want to make life difficult for Democrats. However, they could also prevent Republican projects.
What will change with a Republican House of Representatives
With a Congress split between Democrats and Republicans, Biden will no longer be able to push through major legislative projects in the future. This also applies to additional financial aid for Ukraine in the war against Russia. Far-right Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene campaigned that Ukraine would “not see a penny” once the Republicans took power.
On the other hand, without a majority in the Senate, Republicans cannot pass legislation on abortion or the right to bear arms through Congress. In the run-up to the election, Republicans had also threatened to reverse several laws passed under Biden. Among other things, they wanted to limit the financing of the tax authorities and expand border protection with Mexico in order to combat illegal migration. In addition, many Republican candidates campaigned with the idea of a “Parents Bill of Rights”. Parents should have a greater influence on what their children learn in state schools in order to prevent critical appraisal of racism and discrimination. None of these proposals should stand a chance in the Democratic Senate.
Still, Republicans are not completely paralyzed. With the majority they have now won in the House of Representatives, they could initiate parliamentary investigations into the president or his confidants, for example because of the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan. Hunter Biden’s international business should also be examined more closely. Some extremist MPs have also announced plans to impeach the President. The justification for them is the endangerment of national security through migration at the border with Mexico. According to “New York Times” author Julie Hirschfied Davis, such a procedure is highly unlikely. However, the public discussion could further weaken the President.
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Democrats want to appoint judges and government officials
During his two-year tenure, Joe Biden passed many of his bills, including major investments in national infrastructure, with additional votes from some Republican lawmakers. Those times may be over now. The majority in the House of Representatives does not want to concede any further successes to Biden before the 2024 presidential election. Biden could now use the executive order more often. This rule empowers the President to issue discretionary orders until a court or other President overturns them. So far, Biden has used the regulation primarily to stop Donald Trump’s most controversial decision, including funding a wall on the border with Mexico. The Republicans cannot block the appointment of judges, ambassadors or government representatives. These processes are therefore likely to shape the next two years in Washington DC.
US politics could pick up speed again before the official first week of meetings of the newly elected chambers. Due to the end of terms of office and unclear circumstances, the sessions between the election and replacement are actually known as “lame duck sessions”, in which hardly anything happens. This year, however, they could be very significant for many people. The Democrats and some Republicans want to pass the “Respect for Marriage Act” in the coming days. The law would ensure that same-sex marriages would remain nationally recognized even if the Supreme Court gave states the power to ban them again.
Sources: , with material from the dpa
Source: Stern
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