GOP Wins Control of the House, Narrowly

Republicans have won control of the House of Representatives, but with a bare minimum majority, according to the Associated Press on Nov. 16. With some races still not settled, the GOP had 218 seats, the threshold needed for a majority. Democrats had 211, with a half-dozen races yet to be “called” by the AP.

Rep. Kevin McCarthy of California, the House Republican leader, on Nov. 16 won the election to be Speaker of the House, with the change to take effect when Congress convenes in January.

McCarthy said, “The era of one-party Democratic (sic rule in Washington is over. Washington now has a check and balance.”

Still, with such a thin majority of fewer than 10 seats at best, McCarthy will have a difficult task of moving legislation in a Republican conference that is not completely unified.

Also, any Republican-backed House bills could well die in the Senate, where Democrats will still have a majority.

The changeover in the House will make it more difficult for the Biden administration to move legislation, though infrastructure advocates are hopeful that their issue will be a bipartisan exception.

Tom Ichniowski has been writing about the federal government as ENR’s Washington Bureau Chief since the George H.W. Bush administration, and he has covered at least five major highway bills. A recognized expert on government policy on infrastructure and regulation, Tom is also a Baltimore native and Orioles fan who grew up rooting for Brooks and Frank Robinson. He is a graduate of Columbia College and Columbia’s graduate school of journalism, where he once used “unrelentless” in a headline.

Post a comment to this article

Enhancing Collaboration and Surpassing Traditional Design-Build Methods with Progressive Design-Build

Earn: 1 PDH; 1 AIA LU/Elective; 0.1 IACET CEU

Progressive Design-Build is reshaping large infrastructure projects by addressing key issues with the traditional Design-Build approach. We'll explore how PDB fosters collaboration between owners, design-builders, and design teams to develop a well-defined scope and budget, plus minimizes cost overruns and reduces liability claims.