The resounding victory of Democratic Senator Rafael Warnock in Georgia against a protege of Donald Trump, Republican Herschel Walker, comes to close the running of the midterm elections in the United States.
This result gives a clear majority of 51 to 49 in favor of the Democrats in the Senate. This majority gives the latter, and their leader, Senator Charles (Chuck) Schumer, more leeway to manage the work of this chamber with respect to the appointment of judges and diplomats, the power to summon witnesses within the framework investigations and to form Senate committees.
Dissension in the Republican Party
Despite the Republican takeover of the House of Representatives, the victory is slim (222 against 213) and this is felt around the choice of the next speaker of the House. Currently, Republican House Leader Kevin McCarthy is the presumed choice, but he doesn’t have the required 218 votes to date. We can therefore assume that McCarthy will eventually be selected, but at what cost? The MAGA (pro-Trump) faction of the Republican Party will inevitably be demanding of him.
Since announcing his candidacy for the 2024 presidential election, former President Donald Trump has encountered more and more obstacles. Some are his responsibility.
The dinner with Kanye West, an outspoken anti-Semite, and his courtship with Nick Fuentes, a white supremacist, got the Republican Party into a lot of trouble and came under heavy criticism from some leaders.
More so, Trump’s tweet demanding the US Constitution be suspended to overturn the 2020 election result in Joe Biden’s favor has solidified the unease some Americans close to Trump feel. This is particularly the case of its former vice-president, Mike Pence, and the Republican leader in the Senate, Mitch McConnell.
A New York court ruling this week on tax evasion charges against Donald Trump’s company doesn’t help. Also, possible criminal charges are expected under the special congressional committee investigation involving the events of January 6, 2021. Will he face charges for instigating an insurrection?
The rumor that newly re-elected Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is running for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination is the subject of much speculation and it’s starting to show up in the polls. Again, this will not help Donald Trump’s candidacy.
In short, the Republicans who expected a “red wave” are disappointed with the result of the midterm elections and they seem prisoners of the next untimely tweet or the next cookie-cutter declaration from Donald Trump!
Democrats take action
Certainly, the victory of Rafael Warnock in Georgia and the additional vote in the Senate that this represents gives Vice President Kamala Harris more leeway outside of her role as President of the Senate. In anticipation of the 2024 election, we can then predict teamwork between President Biden and Mr.me Harris much more noticeable in the public square than in the past two years. This could raise the profile of Kamala Harris should Joe Biden decide not to run.
PHOTO J. SCOTT APPLEWHITE, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Hakeem Jeffries, Democratic representative of New York, replaces Nancy Pelosi at the head of the Democrats in the House of Representatives.
Additionally, the Democrats renewed their leadership in the House of Representatives with the announcement of Nancy Pelosi’s retirement as House Leader of the party. Pelosi’s replacement, New York Democratic Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, represents a generational shift. Jeffries received unanimous support from his party.
Despite the imminent change of legislature, the work of Congress has resumed with renewed vigor since the elections of 8 November. There are only a few weeks left and already President Biden and his party have acted.
Legislative actions to protect same-sex and interracial marriage in the event of a possible defeat at the Supreme Court, and legislation that would prevent a rail strike that would have had major consequences for the American economy on the eve of the holidays, have just been subject to bipartisan votes. In short, Biden and his party have been able to make the necessary compromises with the Republicans in order to make significant gains.
Taken as a whole, the midterm elections produced gains for both parties. For the party that occupies the White House, however, we see that the Democrats are doing quite well with gains in the Senate, governorships, and state legislatures.
Those among the Republicans who questioned the 2020 results suffered quite the defeat.
Notwithstanding the existing cleavage between the two parties in Congress, the American government is not paralyzed. It remains to be seen whether this will continue in the work of the new congressional legislature which will begin on January 3, 2023.