Republicans will maintain their majority in the U.S. House of Representatives, overcoming obstacles after two chaotic years in power and securing a trio in government in take control of the White House and both houses of Congress.

On Wednesday, November 13, Republicans crossed the threshold required to secure a majority of House seats for the upcoming 119th Congress, according to Associated Press projections.

Heading into November, Republicans controlled the Lower House by the narrowest of margins, with 220 members to Democrats’ 212 and a few vacant seats. The breakdown will likely be similar after the remaining 2024 races are called.

The new election results are a blow to Democrats, who were thought to have a strong chance of flipping the House blue this year and who felt equally optimistic about their chances of winning the presidency. The Democratic Party last controlled the House from 2019 to 2023 under Nancy Pelosiultimately losing their majority following the 2022 midterm elections.

Pelosi resigned from leadership after the midterm elections and appointed Rep. New York to the post of representative. Hakeem Jeffriesnow 54, to lead the House Democratic Caucus in her place, helping her become the first black party leader in Congressional history. Jeffries would have become the nation’s first black House speaker if Democrats had won back the majority.

The GOP House held a vote on November 13 to determine who they wanted to lead their conference over the next two years, ultimately re-electing Louisiana’s representative. Mike Johnson as Republican leader in the House.

Johnson is now on track to become House speaker again when the 435 House members reconvene on Jan. 3, provided he can avoid another intraparty fight like the former GOP leader. Kevin McCarthy experienced during his election to the presidency in 2023, which required 15 rounds of voting.

In the 118th Congress, which began in January 2023 and ends in January 2025, Republicans’ slim majority in the House prevented them from governing effectively. The narrow margin meant the party needed almost every Republican to get things done.

In fact, it gave the most right-wing faction of Congress disproportionate bargaining power; if their concerns were not reflected in the legislation, they could simply vote against it and derail its chances of passage.

In 2023, Congress had its least productive year in modern history when Republican infighting led to a rebellion that ousted Speaker McCarthy from office and left the House without a leader for weeks, preventing business from transacting during a period that should have been devoted to finalizing the 2024 budget.

After propose several replacements For McCarthy, one candidate ultimately received enough GOP support to become president: the little-known Johnson, whose most notable achievement at the time was leading a congressional effort to overturn the 2020 election results in 2020. Donald TrumpThe favor of, which has won the support of more than 100 members of the House.