WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican leaders are very confident that they will maintain control of the United States House of Representatives as they gained more seats, while Democrats insisted that they can still achieve the majority and sought assurances that all votes will be counted.
The Republican Party won two more seats in tough battles in Pennsylvania, a state where Democrats suffered a widespread defeat. Democrats scored another victory in New York, after defeating a third Republican legislator in that state.
Donald Trump could enjoy a Republican majority in both chambers of Congress and have absolute control over United States policy.
The Republican Party needs 218 representatives to control the Lower House and currently has 212 representatives already secured according to The Associated Press, compared to 201 for the Democrats and still with a handful of contests being decided vote by vote.
When will it be known which party will control the House of Representatives?
"The latest data indicate that we will also maintain—and probably increase—our Republican majority in the lower chamber," said Louisiana representative Mike Johnson in a letter to his colleagues as he sought support to remain as Speaker of the House.
But the leader of the Democratic minority, Hakeem Jeffries, said that "it has not yet been decided" which party will control the House of Representatives, as the outcome of several key contests has not yet been announced.
Seeing that their options have narrowed, the Democrats focused on winning a handful of seats in Arizona, California, and possibly Oregon to close the gap.
A final tally in the House of Representatives will almost certainly have to wait until at least next week, when Congress reconvenes and prepares to elect its new leaders, including the nominees for House Speaker and the senator who will replace outgoing Republican minority leader, Mitch McConnell.
The election results went beyond what even the Republicans had expected, including a majority in the Senate.
The attention was focused on the west, where Democrats were watching which path remains for them to take the majority in the lower chamber.
The great power that Donald Trump will have
Trump is consolidating his power in Washington and will return to the White House with much greater strength than in his first term, when Republicans were divided in their support for him and some openly expressed skepticism, if not opposition, to his rise.
This time, Johnson and Senate Republican leaders have gotten closer to Trump, relying on his power to achieve theirs while pushing for a common Republican agenda more aligned with their priorities of "Make America Great Again" than the previous conservative and more conventional Republican approach.
As Johnson prepares to remain in his position as Speaker of the House in the new Congress, if the Republicans maintain the majority, the question arises of who will replace McConnell, who led his party when they took control of the Senate, a position that will generate intense competition.
The options that Republican senators have to choose a new leader are between Republican Senator John Thune of South Dakota, Senator John Cornyn of Texas, and an unlikely candidate, Senator Rick Scott of Florida, favored by far-rightists who want Trump to intervene in the contest.
Republicans are considering quick action aligned with Trump's initial priorities, which focus on reducing taxes, deporting unauthorized immigrants in the country, and reducing federal regulations and operations.
But after the chaos of the last two years of a Republican majority in the House of Representatives, it is not clear how much they will be able to achieve in the face of resistance from the Democrats, especially if they secure another narrow majority with few extra seats for dissenters.