(Washington Observation) The Democratic and Republican parties control the two houses separately, and Biden faces constraints in his future governance
China News Agency, Washington, November 17th: The Democratic and Republican parties control the two houses separately, and Biden faces constraints in his future governance
China News Agency reporter Sha Hanting
On the evening of the 16th local time, after 8 days of vote counting, the control of the Senate and the House of Representatives in the 2022 midterm elections in the United States was finally announced. As the Republicans won the 218th seat in the House of Representatives, the Republicans captured the House of Representatives, and the Democrats had confirmed to keep the Senate a few days ago, the Biden administration will face a “divided Congress” in the next two years.
The lengthy counting of votes in this mid-term election stems from the stalemate between the two parties in the competition for many “swing states” and key seats. As of 9:00 EST on the 17th, in the House of Representatives, the Republicans won 218 seats and the Democrats won 210 seats; in the Senate, the Democrats won 50 seats and the Republicans won 49 seats. The two parties have secured the majority positions in both chambers ahead of schedule with narrow advantages.
Although the results of the two parties in the Senate and the House of Representatives cannot be regarded as an “accident”, the US media generally believe that in this midterm election, the “red wave” expected by the Republicans did not appear. In the context of high inflation and low support for President Biden, the result of the Democratic Party retaining the Senate and “small loss” in the House of Representatives is a “surprise surprise” for the Democrats.
In the various polls before the election, inflation was the issue that voters were most concerned about, followed by the protection of the electoral system and abortion rights. The Associated Press believes that although the economy and inflation are the most important factors affecting popular votes, its survey also shows that nearly half of voters realize that there are many reasons for inflation, and the rise in prices cannot be completely attributed to the Biden administration.
In addition, the survey also showed that the Federal Supreme Court’s ruling in June this year to abolish the Roe v. Wade case and no longer protect women’s abortion rights also prompted some voters to turn to the Democratic Party. 70% of voters believe that abortion rights are an important factor affecting their votes in the midterm elections.
Regarding the better-than-expected performance of the Democratic Party, Senate Democratic leader Schumer believes that the hearings on the riots on Capitol Hill held since this summer have brought the incident back to the public’s attention. Facts have proved that voters do not want to support former President Trump’s election Stealing” rumors were elected members of Parliament.
For Republicans, the result of narrowly winning the House of Representatives and failing to capture the Senate was far from expected, and the poor performance also sparked recriminations within the Republican Party. Among them, some Republicans believe that Trump and his election “conspiracy theory” have dragged down the Republican candidates.
Trump has been a high-profile campaigner during the election process, and has publicly supported 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 Democratic-led bills have been passed, which has increased the “political capital” of Democratic candidates in this midterm election.
CNN commented that it was “surprising” that the Republican Party did not usher in a greater victory, because the fact is that the Republican Party has benefited from the redistricting of constituencies, and from a historical perspective, the first mid-term election of the president’s party has performed well. Oops.
The “Washington Post” believes that although the Republican Party’s performance is lower than expected, it will eventually regain the House of Representatives, and its political influence in Washington will greatly increase. Republicans have stated that 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 impeachment of Biden and his family.
For Democrats, keeping the Senate means retaining the power to approve the president’s nominations for key executive and judicial posts and to end 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 that he is ready to cooperate with Republicans and cannot let the future fall into “political battles.”
In the past few years, “partisanship” has been a key word throughout Washington politics. A survey by the Associated Press shows that most voters are worried about the current political situation in the United States and the future of the country. A quarter of voters believe that neither the Democrats nor the Republicans are thinking of the country; three-quarters of voters believe that America is heading in the wrong direction. Some experts say that, compared with winning the mid-term elections, how to truly address the concerns of the public seems to be more of a concern for the two parties.
Source: China News Network