Biden and the next Congress • Workers

By Daisy Frances Mixidor, by Prensa Latina, Special for Workers

Control of the United States Congress defined the colors: red after the Republicans took back the House and blue because the Democrats retained the Senate after the hard-fought midterm elections on November 8.

So the 118th inauguration in January 2023 at the Federal Capitol, in Washington, D.C., will reflect the divided national political landscape and have all the makings to make Joe Biden’s agenda even more challenging through 2024.

The New York Times warned that the reflection of these clear differences on issues such as abortion, the economy, crime and the form of representative democracy will go to that new parliament.

Despite their dissatisfaction with the disappointing performance in the midterm elections and without the “red wave” that pollsters and analysts had predicted at the time, the Republicans accumulated enough gains to win the crown in the House of Representatives by a slim majority.

In New York and Florida alone, six seats moved from Democrats to Republicans. Other seats, from Virginia and Tennessee to Wisconsin and Iowa, increased those totals, which increased when closing on the opposition bench to 221 (versus 213 for the Blues) from the 435 contested seats during the election.

And in predictions, the American newspaper “The Hill” indicated that if the three remaining districts in the count follow the current trend, the Republicans will dominate with 222 seats and the Blues will remain with 213: “This will be a reflection of the slim majority in the House that the Democrats obtained in the 2020 elections.” , said the media outlet that specializes in political affairs and congressional issues.

However, analysts agree that the role of the Democrats was better than expected, as they achieved important victories. In North Carolina, Michigan and Ohio, for example, and in the opinion of film director Michael Moore, they put up a “blue wall” against the “ugly red wave”.

The battle for the Senate is not over yet, we will have to wait for the second round in Georgia on December 6, where Democratic Senator Raphael Warnock and his Republican opponent Herschel Walker will face each other. However, members of the state party have secured 50 of the 100 seats in the Senate, and what happens in Georgia will only endorse or extend their amended primacy.

The current occupant of the Oval Office was optimistic because, in the face of congressional decline—which always happens to the president’s party in power in this type of election—it must be admitted that they have given up “fewer House seats than in any other midterm in the past 40 years.”

Biden has avoided the “battering” of his predecessors, but that narrow Republican majority in the House of Representatives could derail his legislative agenda and put him under investigation ranging from the alleged shady business dealings of his son, Hunter Biden, to the administration’s alleged politicization. Justice, the origins of COVID-19, and the chaotic withdrawal of Pentagon forces from Afghanistan in August 2021.

In the midterm elections, 435 seats were contested in the House of Representatives, whose members are elected every two years, and 35 of the 100 seats in the Senate, where each legislator has a six-seat term. In addition, voters chose 36 of the country’s 50 states and other offices. In terms of expenses, they broke records for competitions of their kind, as it is estimated that the numbers will exceed $16.7 billion.

At the moment, Biden said that at the beginning of 2023 he will announce whether he will run for a second term. Part of Democrats see this proposal as problematic because of his age (82 in 2024), and his consistently low approval ratings.

According to an NBC News poll on Election Day, two-thirds of voters surveyed are unhappy with the idea of ​​a Biden repeat. Other studies confirm that part of the Republicans also do not want Donald Trump to run again. They ask for new names on the presidential ballot.