America's Red congress.

America's Red congress.

by Shania Dedigama 09-11-2022 | 5:31 PM

What would a prospective Republican controlled Congress mean for America and the world?

Millions of votes are yet to be counted in the midterm elections, but as Republicans win back key Senate and House states, early estimates suggest the Republican Party is on course to win back control of the US House of Representatives for the first time in four years. While the House of Representatives remains blatantly Republican, the Senate seats are too close to predict a call. Subsequent to 2 years of Democrat rule on Capitol Hill, there's about to be a swift shift in the power dynamic.

What does it mean for the Biden Presidency?

Biden's unhindered legislative agenda will be disrupted should Congress become controlled by the Right-wing Republicans. Biden and his democratic senators will face contension over legislation regarding abortion, education and voting rights, but recent history has proven that the two political parties have come to a conensus on legislation surrounding gun control, investments in technology and infrastructure spending. Republicans will be tactful in blocking msot Democrat proposed legislation, in order to prioritize their agenda which includes a focus on border security, spending on law enforcement, budget cuts and the extraction of fossil fuels. The only way for Democrats to block legislation passing through the Senate will be by using the filibuster method (where long debates/ discussions on the legislation will delay the passing of the law), or by using President Biden's veto power. But if they keep blocking what the Republican majority wish to pass in Congress, it will keep resulting in a legislative stalemate. The Republican party will slash financial aid to Ukraine as they see an increment in defence spending to the war in the East as unfeasible during growing concerns of hyperinflation at home.

If the Republicans win Congress, they acquire investigative powers. What does this mean? It means powers to investigate the Biden presidency and what's been going on in the White House in the last 2 years. This also means the Red Congress will have the authority to make Biden stand on an impeachment trial, should the investigations lead to any signs of an unfit presidency. The Republicans wish to carry out investigations into the Biden administration specifically targeting the ageing President's policies on troop withdrawal from Afghanistan, COVID-19, business deals with his son Hunter Biden who's business is associated to China, the southern border issues and the FBI and Department of Justice under the Biden presidency. The prospective Republican majority will target the sitting president via investigations in order to ground their allegations of an unfit presidency.

With a divided Congress we can also expect government shut down, it has happened recently;

twice during President Trump's administration and once during Barack Obama's presidency. What leads to government shutdown? Congressional infighting leads to their inability to come to a consensus on a basic framework for government spending.

A very probable Republican win is a very hard pill for incumbent president Biden to swallow. He campaigned as a president who could unite all divisions in th country, instead he will face a nation as divided as ever, a hostile Congress, and the possibility that Mr Trump himself will seek to win back the White House.