- Kumara gives Sri Lanka edge on rain-hit day against South Africa
- Namibia votes with ruling party facing toughest race yet
- Spurs goalkeeper Vicario out for 'months' with broken ankle
- Moscow expels German journalists, Berlin denies closing Russia TV bureau
- Spain govt defends flood response and offers new aid
- France says Netanyahu has 'immunity' from ICC warrants
- Nigerian state visit signals shift in France's Africa strategy
- Stock markets waver as traders weigh Trump tariffs, inflation
- Tens of thousands in Lebanon head home as Israel-Hezbollah truce takes hold
- Opposition candidates killed in Tanzania local election
- Amorim eyes victory in first Man Utd home game to kickstart new era
- Fresh fury as Mozambique police mow down protester
- Defeat at Liverpool could end Man City title hopes, says Gundogan
- Indonesians vote in regional election seen as test for Prabowo
- Guardiola says no intent to 'make light' of self harm in post-match comments
- New EU commission gets green light to launch defence, economy push
- Opposition figures killed as Tanzania holds local election
- Taiwan Olympic boxing champion quits event after gender questions
- European stocks drop on Trump trade war worries
- Volkswagen to sell operations in China's Xinjiang
- FA probes referee David Coote over betting claim
- Serbia gripped by TV series about murder of prime minister
- Putin seeks to shore up ties on visit to 'friendly' Kazakhstan
- New EU commission pushes for defence and economy spending
- Plastic pollution talks must speed up, chair warns
- Pakistan web controls quash dissent and potential
- 1,000 Pakistan protesters arrested in pro-Khan capital march
- ICC prosecutor seeks arrest warrant for Myanmar junta chief
- Philippine VP's bodyguards swapped out amid investigation
- EasyJet annual profit rises 40% on package holidays
- Ukraine sees influx of Western war tourists
- Greeks finally get Thessaloniki metro after two-decade wait
- New EU commission to get all clear with big push on defence and economy
- Thousands of Lebanese head home as Israel-Hezbollah truce takes hold
- Australia takes step to ban under 16s from social media
- Volkswagen says to sell operations in China's Xinjiang
- Japan prosecutor bows in apology to former death row inmate
- Thailand to return nearly 1,000 trafficked lemurs, tortoises to Madagascar
- Namibia votes with ruling party facing its toughest race yet
- Indian protest wrestler given four-year ban for avoiding dope test
- UK parliament to debate assisted dying law
- Ireland has a cultural moment, from rock and books to cinema
- South Korean capital hit by record November snowfall: weather agency
- Sinn Fein hope election will propel it to power in Ireland
- Ceasefire takes hold in Israel-Hezbollah war
- Chinese island plastic pollution turned into artistic omens
- Anti-mine treaty signatories slam US decision to send landmines to Ukraine
- Vietnamese EV maker Vinfast reports $550 million Q3 loss
- Hello Kitty owner plunges 17% on sharesale plan
- Giannis-less Bucks edge Heat, Rockets advance in NBA Cup
BCE | 1.44% | 27.02 | $ | |
BCC | -0.65% | 147.445 | $ | |
CMSC | 0.52% | 24.698 | $ | |
CMSD | -0.23% | 24.375 | $ | |
SCS | -0.26% | 13.505 | $ | |
GSK | 1.02% | 34.37 | $ | |
RIO | -0.02% | 62.015 | $ | |
NGG | 0.39% | 63.075 | $ | |
JRI | 1.19% | 13.399 | $ | |
AZN | 0.61% | 66.77 | $ | |
RBGPF | -1.5% | 60.1 | $ | |
RELX | 0.74% | 47.16 | $ | |
RYCEF | -0.29% | 6.78 | $ | |
VOD | 1.28% | 8.975 | $ | |
BP | 0.5% | 29.105 | $ | |
BTI | 0.89% | 38.05 | $ |
Republicans hope Trump sweep will give party full power in Congress
US President-elect Donald Trump can seize untrammeled power in Washington should his Republicans gain full control of Congress, a feat his party may well achieve as it leads the race for the House of Representatives.
Pulling such a trifecta -- winning the White House and Senate, which Republicans have already done, and maintaining their control of the House -- would end the party's four years in the minority and propel them into dominating every branch of government in the United States.
A comprehensive congressional victory would mean Trump gets enormous support to enact his domestic legislative agenda and appoint justices to the powerful US Supreme Court.
"As more results come in it is clear that, as we have predicted all along, Republicans are poised to have unified government in the White House, Senate, and House," Speaker of the House Mike Johnson said early Wednesday in a statement.
"The latest data and trends indicate that when all the votes are tabulated, Republicans will have held our majority."
Democrats need to flip only four House seats to climb out of the minority, but Cook Political Report, which closely follows congressional races, concurred with Johnson.
"At this point, the most likely outcome is a GOP trifecta, including a continued narrow Republican House majority," the publication posted Wednesday on X.
The US Capitol is divided into the House of Representatives -- where all 435 seats are up for grabs -- and a 100-member Senate, which had 34 seats at stake this year. Congressional elections run alongside the presidential race.
While decisions on several House races are headed to overtime, Politico reported Wednesday that Republicans have secured 198 seats so far in their quest for the magic majority of 218, compared to the Democrats' 180.
On the Senate side, Jim Justice, the sitting Republican governor of West Virginia, delighted Republicans early in the night when he emerged as an easy victor in the race to replace retiring moderate Senator Joe Manchin, a Democrat who later became an independent.
Ohio then moved into the Republican column after longstanding Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown was defeated by Bernie Moreno, a Trump-endorsed businessman and son of a one-time high-ranking Colombian government official.
Fox News and ABC called the race for control of the upper chamber after Republican Senator Deb Fischer fended off an unexpectedly robust challenge from an independent in Nebraska.
"I look forward to working with President Trump and our new conservative majority to make America great again by making the Senate work again," Senator John Cornyn of Texas, a contender to lead the Republican majority from January, said in a statement.
The Justice and Moreno victories reversed the Democrats' 51-49 Senate advantage, and Republicans soon extended their lead with a flip in Montana. Other potential pick-ups include Senate seats in Nevada and Pennsylvania.
- Huge power -
Democrats were looking to mitigate Senate losses with gains in Texas and Florida, but conceded both as the incumbent Republicans notched easy wins.
If Republicans win all of the toss-up races, they'll end the election with 55 of the 100 seats, giving them huge power to usher through Trump's domestic agenda and judicial appointments.
In a first, two Black women will serve at the same time in the US Senate, following victories from Democrats Angela Alsobrooks and Lisa Blunt Rochester in Maryland and Delaware respectively.
Of the 2,000-plus Americans who have served in the upper chamber, only three so far have been Black women -- including Harris. Alsobrooks and Rochester will become the fourth and fifth.
Sarah McBride will be the first openly transgender politician elected to Congress after beating Republican John Whalen III to take a House seat representing Delaware.
W.Lapointe--BTB