Five days after the midterm elections in the United States, the Democratic Party is assured of retaining control of the Senate and the Republicans appear to be on their way to regaining the House of Representatives.
This probable cohabitation in Congress will reduce President Joe Biden’s room for maneuver until 2024, without completely cutting his wings.
Judges or ambassadors
The US President has the power to appoint all federal judges, including Supreme Court justices, but also ambassadors, the head of the central bank and the heads of powerful government agencies, such as those regulating the environment, medicines or firearms.
But the Constitution provides for its candidates to be confirmed in the Senate.
The Democrats, who are sure to have at least 50 seats out of 100 in the upper house, will be able to validate Joe Biden’s choices, since Vice President Kamala Harris has the power to decide between senators.
The Democratic president, who has been appointing judges for two years at as rapid a rate as his predecessor Donald Trump did from 2016 to 2020, should therefore continue this momentum and in turn leave his mark on the courts of the country.
So far, he has favored the diversity of profiles, choosing a majority of women or magistrates from minorities, when Donald Trump had chosen his candidates on their conservative service records.
Laws
To be adopted, a law must be voted on by both chambers of Congress.
If the Republicans regain a majority in the House, Joe Biden and the Democrats will therefore not be able to pass new major projects.
But neither do their rivals.
However, the Republicans had threatened to unravel certain measures adopted under Joe Biden if they regained control of the two chambers. They wanted in particular to reconsider the funds allocated to the tax services to hire new agents, or on certain reforms in the world of education.
They had also planned to attack the right to abortion or to legislate on firearms, which would have pushed Joe Biden to use his right of veto.
The 79-year-old president will not ultimately be forced to stick to this defensive posture, and will on the contrary have to use his negotiating skills to avoid, in particular, a paralysis of the federal administration (the famous “shutdown”).
Last week, he pledged to “work” with the Republican opposition and compromises with the moderates will be necessary to pass the budget, military spending or act on the debt ceiling.
And the surveys?
The House, in the hands of the Democrats, had launched an investigation into the role of Donald Trump in the assault on January 6, 2021. But the days of the commission in charge of the investigation seem numbered.
The Republicans, if they regain the majority in this chamber, will put an end to what they call a “masquerade”, and will on the other hand launch a host of investigations into Joe Biden’s management of the pandemic or the withdrawal of Afghanistan.
They could also go after his son Hunter, accused of using his name to do business in Ukraine and China.