By Anthony Zurcher
BBC News, Washington
The last polls of the midterm elections are retired and tin assistance springiness america an reply to the question connected everyone's caput - who volition win? Democrats oregon Republicans?
Indications are that the Republican Party is connected the verge of taking backmost power of the US House of Representatives for the archetypal clip successful 4 years.
The precocious enclosure of Congress, the Senate, remains excessively adjacent to call. There are much paths to a Republican triumph successful the Senate than for Democrats, who person held the barest of majorities determination for the past 2 years.
Understanding however it could unfold successful some chambers is conscionable a question of maths.
In the House, Republicans request to flip lone 5 seats retired of the 435 successful the enclosure to person a majority.
According to the Cook Political Report, which analyses the competitiveness of races based connected polling information and underlying predetermination dynamics, Republicans are favoured successful 212 seats. They would person to triumph conscionable six of the 35 races listed arsenic toss-ups to power a majority. Ten of those seats are already held by Republicans.
The 100-seat Senate is somewhat simpler to understand. Only 35 seats are up for predetermination this year, and determination are lone a fistful of intimately contested races.
A nett alteration of 1 spot toward the Republicans volition plaything the enclosure to them.
Given that Democrats are trying to support much seats than Republicans, determination are simply much ways for Democrats to suffer the Senate than to triumph it. That gives the Republicans the precocious hand, albeit by the narrowest of margins.
It appears apt that Republicans volition power astatine slightest 1 enclosure of Congress erstwhile the particulate settles connected these midterm elections.
After 2 years of unified Democratic power successful Washington, the powerfulness dynamic successful the nation's superior is poised to shift. Here are 4 precise existent implications American authorities for the adjacent 2 years.
The extremity of Joe Biden's legislative agenda
Although it unfolded successful fits and starts, aft 2 years successful office, Joe Biden and the Democrats were capable to enact a reasonably substantive legislative agenda. It included monolithic spending connected the environment, healthcare and different societal programmes.
That each ends with a Republican triumph connected Tuesday.
There's the accidental of bipartisan co-operation connected immoderate issues. For instance, Republicans and Democrats did articulation unneurotic to walk weapon power and exertion concern this twelvemonth and infrastructure spending past year. However, the benignant of big-ticket wide priorities connected abortion, acquisition and voting rights volition beryllium dormant successful the water.
Republicans person their ain legislative agenda, with peculiar absorption connected borderline security, instrumentality enforcement spending, fund cuts and fossil substance extraction. Even if they instrumentality some chambers of Congress, Democrats volition beryllium capable artifact transition successful the Senate utilizing the filibuster rule oregon successful the White House utilizing Mr Biden's veto power.
For the adjacent 2 years, legislative gridlock volition beryllium the sanction of game.
Mr Biden volition beryllium near searching for unilateral means to enact policy, and Republicans successful Congress volition beryllium operating connected the margins. They volition beryllium redeeming immoderate sweeping changes for 2024, erstwhile they anticipation to triumph backmost the presidency and grow immoderate legislature gains.
Republicans get the powerfulness to investigate
For 2 years, Democrats person been calling the shots - which includes the quality to absorption the formidable powers of legislature oversight connected subjects of their interest. That's meant an expansive probe into the 6 January, 2021, onslaught connected the US Capitol, and hearings connected subjects similar abortion, healthcare and voting rights.
If Republicans instrumentality power of legislature committees, the priorities volition rapidly shift.
House conservatives person already promised a proceeding into Joe Biden's lad Hunter's concern ties to China. They besides privation to look into the Biden administration's migration policies, the US withdrawal from Afghanistan and the origins of the coronavirus pandemic successful China.
The Senate Judiciary Committee handles reappraisal of statesmanlike nominations to the national courts. For the past 2 years, Democrats person acceptable a modern grounds for the fig of caller judges seated to beingness appointments.
If Republicans besides instrumentality power of the US Senate, expect the process for confirming Mr Biden's nominees to travel to a standstill. And if a Supreme Court vacancy opens up, there's a bully accidental it could stay unfilled until the adjacent statesmanlike election.
Risk of authorities shutdowns
With Democratic power of Congress, the US had a two-year reprieve from the benignant of legislative games of chickenhearted that person led to authorities shutdowns and adjacent default connected the nationalist debt.
There is simply a ineligible request that Congress authorise the issuance of caller authorities indebtedness to screen already approved spending. Some Republicans, including Congressman Kevin McCarthy who is poised to go House talker if Republicans instrumentality the chamber, are already threatening to usage that arsenic a mode to unit Democrats to hold to sweeping fund cuts.
The US has ne'er defaulted connected its debt.
However partial authorities shutdowns owed to the inability of Congress to o.k. yearly spending authorities person go a much communal occurrence. It happened doubly during the Trump medication and erstwhile nether President Obama.
If Republicans and Democrats can't hold connected a basal model for authorities spending, different authorities shutdown by the extremity of adjacent twelvemonth seems highly probable.
Biden's perilous way ahead
Republican power of Congress would beryllium a bitter pill for Mr Biden to swallow. He campaigned arsenic idiosyncratic who could unite Americans aft a turbulent 4 years with Mr Trump arsenic president.
Instead helium volition look a federation arsenic divided arsenic ever, a hostile Congress intent connected scouring his medication and his family, and the anticipation that Mr Trump himself volition question to triumph backmost the White House.
Most presidents endure done electoral setbacks halfway done their archetypal word successful office. Although immoderate person bounced backmost to triumph re-election, specified a effect volition beryllium seen arsenic a motion of Mr Biden's continued governmental weakness. It could renew calls for him to measurement speech for different Democrat erstwhile the 2024 statesmanlike run play begins.
The president and his advisers each importune helium volition question re-election. The White House has already announced Mr Biden volition springiness a nationalist code addressing the predetermination results connected Wednesday.
How helium handles that speech, and however helium deals with the adversity that is coming successful the months up remains to beryllium seen. It volition spell a agelong mode toward determining however overmuch enactment helium volition person successful his ain enactment for different 4 years successful office.