The Capitol in Washington

DLNews Politics:

US President Joe Biden's (79) Democrats lost their majority in the House of Representatives in the congressional elections. Republicans will have more than half of the 435 seats in the House of Congress. The US broadcasters CNN and NBC and the AP news agency reported on Wednesday based on vote counts and forecasts.

After announcing the result, Biden congratulated Republican Chairman Kevin McCarthy (57) on the majority. McCarthy received his group's support on Tuesday to run for the powerful office as President of the US House of Representatives, succeeding Democrat Nancy Pelosi (82).

Kevin McCarthy, the Republican leader in the House of Representatives

An outcome of the election in favor of the Republicans is not a surprise – however, their majority will end up being narrower than expected. And: In the important Senate, the Democrats keep the say.

With a divided Congress, governing for Biden will definitely be more difficult in the next two years. And: With the majority in the House of Representatives, the Republicans could initiate parliamentary investigations into the President or his confidants.

All 435 seats in the House of Representatives and about a third of the seats in the Senate were up for grabs in the "midterm" elections in the middle of Biden's term on Tuesday last week. In addition, crucial governorships were filled in numerous states. However, counting the votes took a long time due to some states' close results and electoral peculiarities.

US President Joe Biden

Biden's party secured a majority in the Senate. This is particularly important because important personal details at the federal level – such as ambassadors, cabinet members, or federal judges – are confirmed there. Biden is, therefore, confident of the opportunity to push through further nominations in the second half of his term. However, the loss of control of the House of Representatives is likely to make things uncomfortable for the President over the next two years.

With their new power in the House of Representatives, the Republicans will be able to block legislative projects in the future since both chambers of Congress are involved in the legislative process.