Republicans Win Control Of The House—Giving Trump Unified Government

Topline

Republicans officially clinched control of the House of Representatives on Wednesday night, affirming GOP control of both chambers of Congress and the White House.

Key Facts

Which Seats Have Flipped In The House?

Republicans flipped a seat in Colorado , two Pennsylvania districts (District 7 and District 8) and a district in Michigan . Democrats flipped three seats in New York (District 4, District 19 and District 22).

Crucial Quote

"We still have a number of races outstanding, but we're very optimistic about those and we are looking forward to governing in unified government beginning in January," House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said Tuesday .

Why Haven't All The Votes Been Counted Yet?

Some states, particularly in the western U.S. , take longer to tally ballots because of state election operations. California is known to take more time than the rest of the country to finalize its results. It's the only state with millions of remaining ballots uncounted as of Wednesday. California's election officials need more time because the state has by far the largest population in the country. The state's voting processes are more abundant and require more effort, such as its rule to give every registered voter a mail-in ballot , which makes it easy for citizens to vote but requires more work (through hours of phone calls) to verify whether the ballot was filled out incorrectly.

Key Background

The House now holds enormous importance for President-elect Donald Trump's ability to legislate when he takes office after Republicans won a majority in the Senate on Tuesday. With the GOP winning control, it gives the party unified control of government. "We believe we can be the most consequential Congress of modern politics," Johnson said at a Tuesday news conference. Republicans won a tight majority in the House in 2022, claiming 222 seats, including several competitive seats in Arizona, California, New York, Virginia and Nebraska. Democrats secured a Senate majority in 2021, later solidifying that number in 2023. The period of a divided Congress since has been marred by Republican infighting and lessened productivity—partly due to Congress' partisan split and partly because of the GOP's narrow majority, which allows a tiny number of lawmakers to control the fate of legislation. In October 2023, Republicans and Democrats voted for the first ouster of the House speaker in history, driving out then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., an action led by hard-right Trump ally Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla. The move was highly disruptive because of the extensive voting processes and the search for a new speaker. That year, the House also struggled to pass legislation, passing 27 bills after voting 724 times. That's fewer bills passed than any other term since 2013, The New York Times reported , citing research from the Bipartisan Policy Center. Congress narrowly avoided several government shutdowns over the past two years. With this election, Republicans were predicted to take control of the House by a slim margin of 30 seats or less, according to FiveThirtyEight .

Which House Results Were Historic?

Several races made history in this election. Democrat Sarah McBride was elected to a Delaware House seat, becoming the first openly transgender Congress member with the win. Republican Julie Fedorchak won North Dakota's sole House seat, becoming the first woman elected to the House in North Dakota, and Democrat Julie Johnson became the first openly gay woman to represent Texas in the House. Democrat Yassamin Ansari won her seat in Arizona and became the first Iranian American elected to the U.S. House.

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