The November 6 midterm congressional elections were seen as a referendum on President Donald Trump’s tenure in the White House. The Democratic party, which sought to harness voter anger over Mr Trump’s incendiary rhetoric, appears on track to gain as many as 40 seats in the House of Representatives once all the counting is complete.
The vote gave Democrats control of the House for the first time in eight years. The Republican party increased majority in the Senate on a battlefield that tilted heavily towards them as many rural, conservative voters – Mr Trump’s political base – turned out in droves to support him. In one of the most closely watched races, the Republican Texas senator Ted Cruz fended off an unexpectedly tough challenge from Beto O’Rourke. Joe Donnelly of Indiana and Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota – two Democrats who won in these red states in 2012 – also lost their re-election bids. Among the new entrants will be the first Muslim women to serve in Congress and the first Native American women.
Retaining the Senate will allow Mr Trump to continue to remake the nation’s judiciary branch in a more conservative mould as it is the Senate that confirms White House nominees.
Republican losses in the House of Representatives might have been even larger were it not for the strong economy.
Gross domestic product rose at an annualised rate of 3.5 per cent during the third quarter after the 4.2 per cent reading in the second quarter. Business spending on fixed investment – such as machinery, buildings and equipment – jumped 11.5 percent and 8.7 percent during the first and second quarters and rose at an annual pace of 0.8 percent in the third quarter. Unemployment is at the lowest level in nearly 50 years and wage growth has accelerated to its quickest pace in almost a decade, propelling demand. Consumer spending, which accounts for about 70 per cent of economic output, accelerated to a 4 per cent year-on-year in the September quarter.
The Federal Reserve continues its gradual march to tighter monetary policy. At the same time, the US central bank is steadily reining in the size of its balance sheet, which was swelled by crisis-era stimulus measures. The Fed is widely expected to raise the benchmark interest rate for a fourth time this year in December, despite repeated attacks on the tightening by Mr Trump, who has accused the Fed of being out of control.
A divided Congress will make it hard for Republicans to push through another round of tax cuts. Lowering drug costs and an increase in public spending on infrastructure, however, are potential areas for collaboration.
The Trump administration has operated for two years without any real oversight from Congress. Now Democrats will have the power to subpoena records and documents from the administration. One of the Democratic targets to pursue could be whether Mr Trump is violating the constitution’s emoluments clauses to enrich himself. The House ways and means committee has the power to request the president’s tax returns.
Jeff Sessions, Mr Trump’s attorney-general, submitted his resignation on October 7, one day after the midterm elections. His departure – forced by Mr Trump because of Mr Sessions’s decision to recuse himself from the Justice Department’s inquiry into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election – has raised questions about whether Mr Trump would try to shut down special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into possible links between the Trump 2016 presidential campaign and Russia. Mr Mueller secured guilty pleas from Mr Trump’s previous aides and advisers and brought indictments against Russians that covered the hacking of the Democratic National Committee and Moscow’s alleged involvement in the US 2016 elections.
Mr Trump has appointed Matthew Whitaker, who was Mr Sessions’s chief of staff, as acting attorney-general. Now Mr Whitaker, who has publicly criticised the Russia probe, will oversee Mr Mueller’s investigation into possible links between Russia and the 2016 Trump campaign.
House Democrats have said they would protect Mr Mueller’s investigation, insisting that Mr Whitaker must recuse himself from Mr Mueller’s investigation.
Photo:@John Brighenti
