Republicans take control of House of Representatives as internal party battles heat up
The Republican Party will take control of the House of Representatives, after securing a narrow majority of seats in the chamber.
A week after the election, the Republicans claimed their 218th seat, the magic number to hold a majority.
Fourteen seats remain to be called.
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Kevin McCarthy faces the difficult task of wrangling the Republican House caucus. AP
The Democrats only had to lose five seats to cost them control of the House in last Tuesday's midterm elections.
And despite vastly outperforming expectations, losing the House is a big blow for Democrats, and for Joe Biden.
Without the House, Biden's legislative agenda will essentially ground to a complete halt.
Biden will now have to negotiate with Republicans in order to keep the government funded.
If he cannot, the Republicans have the capacity to initiate a shutdown.
But the incredibly narrow majority presents a headache for the likely next Speaker, Kevin McCarthy.
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Kevin McCarthy, Mitch McConnell and Nancy Pelosi all face intra-party challenges. AP
Depending on the final margin, a few defecting moderates could allow the passage of Democratic priorities.
And the most conservative members on the other side of the Republican political spectrum have already signalled they won't make things easy for McCarthy.
In a vote held this morning to decide who would lead the party in the House, the Republican caucus voted 188 to 31 for McCarthy, with conservative Andy Biggs taking the rest.
But a vote for the Speaker will require all members of the House, Republican and Democrat.
McCarthy will need close to every Republican vote to take the gavel.
Meanwhile, Nancy Pelosi has not confirmed whether she will remain as the leader of the House Democrats.
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Nancy Pelosi has led the House Democrats since 2003. AP
The 82-year-old has held the top Democratic job since 2003.
In the upper chamber, Republican leader Mitch McConnell may lose the top job to an internal party challenge.
McConnell has been the top Republican in the Senate since 2006, but has clashed with Donald Trump repeatedly.
In several social media posts, Trump has lashed out at McConnell and made racial slurs against his wife.
The Republicans only needed to pick up one seat to take control of the Senate in the midterms. Instead, they lost ground.
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Rick Scott has announced he will challenge Mitch McConnell. AP
Now the knives are out for McConnell, with Florida Senator Rick Scott announcing a challenge for the top job.
"I ran for Senate because we need OUTSIDERS to take on the DC swamp and get RESULTS," Indiana senator Mike Braun tweeted.
"I'm proud to support my friend and fellow conservative outsider Rick Scott for our leader."
But McConnell still has support within the caucus, in spite of a raucous three-hour meeting.
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"It was like Festivus from Seinfeld. The airing of grievances," Senator Mitt Romney said.
"But the reality is, Mitch McConnell has done quite an extraordinary job."
Majority leader Chuck Schumer is expected to have the unchallenged support of the Democratic caucus.
Meanwhile, Trump is expected to announce another bid for the presidency at his Florida country club in a few hours.
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