Democrats retain control of the US Senate – the House of Representatives remains unclear
The Democrats managed to maintain their majority in the Senate in the US congressional elections
Coyle: dpa / J. Scott Applewhite
In the US congressional elections, the Democrats defended their majority in the Senate. They were able to take a seat in the Senate they fought hard in Nevada. It remains unclear who will have a majority in the House of Representatives in the future.
DrUS Democrats retain a majority in the Senate after the midterm elections. In the US state of Nevada, Democratic Senator Catherine Cortez Masto has been confirmed to take office, US television channels CNN, NBC and CBS reported Saturday evening (local time) based on the vote count. Accordingly, the Democrats bring in the necessary number of senators to control the House of Representatives. This is a huge success for Biden and his party. It remains unclear who will have a majority in the House of Representatives in the future.
Before the elections, a wave of success for Republicans and disaster for Democrats were predicted. But neither of them happened. The Democrats did much better than expected.
The congressional elections took place last Tuesday. The vote, midway through Biden’s four-year term, saw all 435 House seats and about a third of the Senate’s seats. In addition, important provinces were occupied in many states.
Counting the votes in Nevada took a long time due to the intense rivalry between the two opponents and because of the electoral peculiarities of the state. After days of nail-biting, Democratic Senator Catherine Cortez Masto finally defeated Republican challenger Adam Laxalt, broadcasters unanimously reported. That puts Democrats in 50 of the 100 seats in the Senate — and they’re already coveted by a majority in the Senate, although there is still a race for a Senate seat in Georgia.
The background is that Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris, who is also the speaker of the Senate, is allowed to vote in a stalemate. So, even if the Republicans win in Georgia, the balance of power in the Senate will be 50-50, as it has been for the past two years — and Harris maintains the Democrats with a slim majority.
Runoff in Georgia on December 6th
In Georgia on December 6, there will be a run-off between Democratic Senator Raphael Warnock and his Republican challenger, Herschel Walker, because neither of them got more than 50 percent of the vote on the first try. If the Democrats also win in Georgia, they will have 51 seats in the Senate and will no longer have to rely on Harris to tip the scales in their favor in a stalemate.
This scenario would indeed be more comfortable for Biden than before. Because the first half of his presidency has shown how difficult it is to govern with a narrow majority in the Senate. Two of his party mates in particular made life difficult for him there: Senators Joe Manchin and Kirsten Senema blocked various Biden projects.
The Senate is of particular importance in the political power structure of the United States. Important personal details at the federal level—such as ambassadors, cabinet members or federal judges—must be confirmed by the Senate. The appointment of judges is particularly important.
Biden is now sure of the opportunity to push through more nominations. How much a president can achieve politically in the second half of his term now depends primarily on whether the Democrats lose their majority in the House of Representatives or are able to maintain it as well. If the Republicans have the floor in the House in the future, they can block legislative projects as they please. Republicans have also threatened various investigations against Democrats or even impeachment proceedings against members of Biden’s cabinet. They could make life difficult for Biden and his government in the next two years.
Many of the voting results are still being tallied in the House of Representatives. 218 seats are required for a majority in the Council. According to the votes counted so far, the Republicans have won 211 seats and the Democrats to 204 Saturday evening (local time), and there is also the race much closer than expected before the election.
