GOP now takes control of the House of Representatives; Kevin McCarthy is set to become a new speaker

Republicans were expected to take control of the House of Representatives on Wednesday, returning them to a majority after four years by a very slim margin.

MSNBC and CNN called the race first this afternoon, followed shortly by the Associated Press and Fox News. With about nine races yet to be announced in this year’s midterm elections, CNN gave the GOP 218 seats, an outright majority, with 208 seats held by Democrats.

Once the new Congress is sworn in in January, the first big test for House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy will be winning the speakership. He was overwhelmingly nominated by the party body on Tuesday, but 31 of his own members still voted against him and for a rival, Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ).

“We have our work to do,” McCarthy told reporters. “We [are going to have] a slim majority. We must listen to everyone at our conference. …Either we will lead as a team or we will lose as individuals, but I think in the end we will lead as a team.

If McCarthy becomes speaker, he will be second in line to the Oval Office behind Vice President Kamala Harris.

The GOP majority, likely less than half a dozen votes when all is said and counted, could be so slim that party control could come into play if unexpected vacancies force special elections for some seats, as is typical in a 435-seat House case.

California Congressman McCarthy will also have to unite several factions in his caucus, including a chorus of loud MAGA voices inspired by Donald Trump, who announced his latest bid for the White House on Tuesday. The narrow GOP victory also sparked speculation among pundits about who will replace current Speaker Nancy Pelosi as the Dems’ leader in the lower chamber, or whether she will stay on. She has not yet revealed her plans.

Pelosi said in a statement: “This year, House Democrats have exceeded expectations with an outstanding performance: they have run their races with courage, optimism and determination. In the next Congress, House Democrats will continue to play a leading role to play in supporting President Biden’s agenda – with strong leverage over a small Republican majority.

So McCarthy, who barely made it to the landing line, has to contend not only with Trump, who has snuck in from the side, but also with Democrat Joe Biden in the White House and the Democrats who control the Senate.

The White House today issued a statement about the new Republican majority, in which President Biden said, “The American people want us to get things done for them.” As he has done in the past, Biden also promised to work with and share his cause with every one — “Republican, Democrat.”

Still, Republicans are likely to use their majority to launch a series of investigations into Biden and his administration. The White House expects the same, perhaps starting with an investigation into how the administration handled the southern border crisis. A number of Republicans debated impeaching Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, though they likely never got the votes needed for impeachment in the Senate. McCarthy also tried to shut down talk of impeaching Biden, a prospect that could backfire and be even more of a gamble given the GOP’s tight grip on the House.

While Biden would clearly have preferred Democrats to fill both the House and Senate, he now has a new foil to blame for the 2024 election.