(Washington Observer) Democrats and Republicans share control of the two houses, and Biden faces constraints in his future administration
China News Agency, Washington, November 17: The Democratic and Republican parties control the two chambers separately and Biden faces constraints in his future government
Sha Hanting, China News Agency reporter
On the evening of the 16th local time, after 8 days of voting, control of the Senate and House of Representatives was finally announced in the 2022 midterm elections in the United States. As Republicans won their 218th House of Representatives seat, Republicans swept the House of Representatives, and Democrats confirmed they would retain the Senate just days ago, the Biden administration faces a “divided Congress” over the next two years.
The lengthy vote count in this midterm elections stems from the stalemate between the two parties in competing for many “swing states” and key seats. As of 9:00 am EST on the 17th, in the House of Representatives, Republicans have won 218 seats and Democrats have won 210 seats; in the Senate, Democrats won 50 seats and Republicans won 49 seats. The two parties secured majority positions in both chambers ahead of schedule to little advantage.
Although the results of the two parties in the Senate and in the House of Representatives cannot be considered an “accident”, the US media generally believe that the “red wave” expected by the Republicans has not appeared in these midterm elections. Against a backdrop of high inflation and low support for President Biden, the outcome of keeping the Democratic Party in the Senate and “small loss” in the House of Representatives comes as a “surprise surprise” for Democrats.
In the various polls before the elections, inflation was the issue that worried voters the most, followed by the protection of the electoral system and the right to abortion. The Associated Press believes that while the economy and inflation are the most important factors influencing popular votes, its poll also shows that nearly half of voters realize there are many reasons for inflation and the The price increase cannot be fully attributed to the Biden administration.
In addition, the poll also showed that the Federal Supreme Court’s ruling in June this year to abolish the Roe v. Wade and no longer protecting women’s abortion rights also prompted some voters to turn to the Democratic Party. 70% of voters believe that abortion rights are a major factor affecting their votes in the midterm elections.
As for the Democratic Party’s better-than-expected performance, Senate Democratic Leader Schumer believes hearings into the Capitol Hill riots since this summer have brought the incident back to public attention. voters do not want to support the election of former President Trump Stealing ‘voices were elected members of Parliament.
For Republicans, the outcome of narrowly winning the House of Representatives and failing to win the Senate was far from expected, and the poor performance has also prompted recriminations within the Republican Party. Among them, some Republicans believe that Trump and his election “conspiracy theory” have dragged the Republican candidates down.
Trump was a high-profile campaigner during the election process and publicly endorsed more than 300 Republican candidates, many of whom lost key contests.
Some Republican lawmakers also believe that because the Republican Party in Congress has “compromised too much” with the Democratic Party in the past two years, several Democrat-led laws have been passed, which have increased the “political capital” of Democratic candidates in this election. mid-term.
CNN commented that it was “surprising” that the Republican Party did not usher in a bigger victory, because the fact is that the Republican Party benefited from the reorganization of the electoral colleges and, from a historical perspective, the first midterm elections of the president’s party performed well.
The “Washington Post” believes that although the Republican Party’s performance is lower than expected, it will eventually win back the House of Representatives and its political influence in Washington will greatly increase. Republicans have said they will “reshape” the Republican agenda on issues such as the government budget, immigration and the Ukraine crisis. Republicans who have regained control of various committees in the House of Representatives are also likely to launch investigations and even the impeachment of Biden and his family.
For Democrats, keeping the Senate means retaining the power to approve the president’s nominations to key executive and judicial posts and to terminate Republican House bills. But in any case, the “divided Congress” will inevitably hinder Biden’s governance in the next two years. Biden issued a document on the evening of the 16th, saying he was ready to work with Republicans and could not let the future fall into “political battles.”
In recent years, “partisanship” has been a buzzword in all Washington politics. An Associated Press poll shows that most voters are concerned about the current political situation in the United States and the country’s future. A quarter of voters believe that neither Democrats nor Republicans are thinking about the country; three-quarters of voters believe America is heading in the wrong direction. Some pundits say that, compared to winning the midterm elections, how to truly address public concerns appears to be more of a two-party concern.
