The Republicans have won back control of the US House of Representatives, setting the stage for a showdown with President Joe Biden in the next two years of his presidency.
Split control of Congress was ushered in by last week's midterm elections. While Democrats retained power in the Senate, the GOP won the crucial 218th seat in the lower chamber of Congress, needed to flip the House from Democratic control.
Though far from the anticipated "red wave", Republicans gaining control of the House sets the stage for a showdown with Joe Biden in the next two years of his presidency.
"Americans are ready for a new direction, and House Republicans are ready to deliver," Republican Congressman Kevin McCarthy said in a tweet.
McCarthy has been elected by rank-and-file Republicans to be their nominee to replace Democrat Nancy Pelosi as the next Speaker of the House. Biden congratulated McCarthy and offered to work with Republicans to deliver results for Americans.
“Last week’s elections demonstrated the strength and resilience of American democracy. There was a strong rejection of election deniers, political violence, and intimidation,” Biden said in a statement. “There was an emphatic statement that, in America, the will of the people prevails.”
He added, that “the future is too promising to be trapped in political warfare.”
However, conservatives are expected to stick to their partisan agenda. In retaliation for two impeachment efforts by Democrats against Trump, they are gearing up to investigate Biden administration officials and the president's son Hunter's past business dealings with China and other countries - and even Biden himself.
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On the international front, Republicans could seek to tamp down US military and economic aid to Ukraine as it battles Russian forces.
But any Republican-backed legislation that emerges in the House could well be blocked in the Senate, which Democrats still control.
Meanwhile, Donald Trump has announced that he will run for president again in 2024, the first major contender from the Republican and the Democrat party to formally announce his candidacy.
(With inputs from Reuters, AP)
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