Congress landscape changes as Republicans regain House control
Nov. 5, 2010
The political landscape of the U.S. Congress dramatically changed following Tuesday's midterm elections, with Republicans regaining control of the House of Representatives for the first time in four years as many American voters turned away from Democratic President Barack Obama's economic policies amid high unemployment.
The Republicans also made substantial gains in the Senate but the Democrats managed to keep their majority in the upper chamber by a slim margin.
The outcome of the elections was a historic defeat for the Democrats, who lost more than 60 seats in the House.
''It feels bad,'' Obama told a press conference at the White House about the results. ''I take responsibility for it in a lot of ways.''
The setback for the Democrats is likely to deal a severe blow to Obama, who will find it difficult to win congressional support for his policies such as climate and energy legislation, without control of the House.
It could also cast a shadow over Obama seeking a second term in 2012, analysts say.
Obama admitted that the American people are frustrated with slow progress in improving the economy and said that he has to ''take direct responsibility for the fact that we have not made as much progress as we need to make.''
He also called for bipartisan cooperation in addressing economic challenges and other issues, saying, ''The most important contest we face is not the contest between Democrats and Republicans.''
Noting the need to focus on competition with overseas economies, Obama said, ''To win that competition and to continue our economic leadership, we're going to need to be strong and we're going to need to be united.''
The vote count continued Wednesday, with two seats for the Senate -- in Alaska and Washington -- and 11 seats in the House still undecided, according to U.S. TV networks.
The midterm elections, which came roughly halfway through Obama's four-year presidential term, were widely seen as the voters' verdict on his performance in the two years since he took power in January last year.
House Minority Leader John Boehner, a Republican from Ohio, told supporters, ''We hope President Obama will now respect the will of the people, change course and commit to making changes that they are demanding.'' Boehner is expected to become the next House speaker, replacing Nancy Pelosi.
All 435 House seats and 37 of the 100 Senate seats were at stake in Congress, while 37 state governorships were also up for grabs.
Before the midterm elections, the Democrats held 57 seats in the Senate, and could call on support from two independent members with Democratic affiliation, while 41 seats were occupied by the Republicans.
Of the 435 House members, the Democrats controlled 255 seats, while the Republicans held 178 seats. The remaining two seats were vacant.
According to a CNN tally, the Democrats took 185 seats in the House while 239 seats went to the Republicans. In the Senate, the Democrats were left in control of 52 seats while the Republicans had 46.
During the election campaign, the rise of the conservative tea party movement, which favors small government, had galvanized opposition to Obama's policies amid the country's economic woes and gave momentum to a number of Republican candidates.
The Republicans as well as tea party supporters have accused the Obama administration of spending taxpayers' money ineffectively with its stimulus measures and presiding over an expansion of government.
Obama and many Democratic candidates argued that the massive spending has been necessary to lift the U.S. economy out of its worst recession in decades and that they inherited economic weakness and high unemployment rates from the previous administration of Republican President George W. Bush.
Despite Obama's pledge to create jobs, the U.S. unemployment rate has hovered in a range of 9.5 percent to 10.1 percent in the 12 months to September.
While Obama touted his achievement of implementing health care reforms earlier this year, the Republicans lashed out at the new legislation by claiming it is unpopular among many voters, and said they plan to abolish it immediately.
Of the 37 governorships at stake, the Democrats scored a victory in eight states such as New York and California, while the Republicans won 23 states.
(Distributed by Kyodo News on Nov.3, 2010)
The Republicans also made substantial gains in the Senate but the Democrats managed to keep their majority in the upper chamber by a slim margin.
The outcome of the elections was a historic defeat for the Democrats, who lost more than 60 seats in the House.
''It feels bad,'' Obama told a press conference at the White House about the results. ''I take responsibility for it in a lot of ways.''
The setback for the Democrats is likely to deal a severe blow to Obama, who will find it difficult to win congressional support for his policies such as climate and energy legislation, without control of the House.
It could also cast a shadow over Obama seeking a second term in 2012, analysts say.
Obama admitted that the American people are frustrated with slow progress in improving the economy and said that he has to ''take direct responsibility for the fact that we have not made as much progress as we need to make.''
He also called for bipartisan cooperation in addressing economic challenges and other issues, saying, ''The most important contest we face is not the contest between Democrats and Republicans.''
Noting the need to focus on competition with overseas economies, Obama said, ''To win that competition and to continue our economic leadership, we're going to need to be strong and we're going to need to be united.''
The vote count continued Wednesday, with two seats for the Senate -- in Alaska and Washington -- and 11 seats in the House still undecided, according to U.S. TV networks.
The midterm elections, which came roughly halfway through Obama's four-year presidential term, were widely seen as the voters' verdict on his performance in the two years since he took power in January last year.
House Minority Leader John Boehner, a Republican from Ohio, told supporters, ''We hope President Obama will now respect the will of the people, change course and commit to making changes that they are demanding.'' Boehner is expected to become the next House speaker, replacing Nancy Pelosi.
All 435 House seats and 37 of the 100 Senate seats were at stake in Congress, while 37 state governorships were also up for grabs.
Before the midterm elections, the Democrats held 57 seats in the Senate, and could call on support from two independent members with Democratic affiliation, while 41 seats were occupied by the Republicans.
Of the 435 House members, the Democrats controlled 255 seats, while the Republicans held 178 seats. The remaining two seats were vacant.
According to a CNN tally, the Democrats took 185 seats in the House while 239 seats went to the Republicans. In the Senate, the Democrats were left in control of 52 seats while the Republicans had 46.
During the election campaign, the rise of the conservative tea party movement, which favors small government, had galvanized opposition to Obama's policies amid the country's economic woes and gave momentum to a number of Republican candidates.
The Republicans as well as tea party supporters have accused the Obama administration of spending taxpayers' money ineffectively with its stimulus measures and presiding over an expansion of government.
Obama and many Democratic candidates argued that the massive spending has been necessary to lift the U.S. economy out of its worst recession in decades and that they inherited economic weakness and high unemployment rates from the previous administration of Republican President George W. Bush.
Despite Obama's pledge to create jobs, the U.S. unemployment rate has hovered in a range of 9.5 percent to 10.1 percent in the 12 months to September.
While Obama touted his achievement of implementing health care reforms earlier this year, the Republicans lashed out at the new legislation by claiming it is unpopular among many voters, and said they plan to abolish it immediately.
Of the 37 governorships at stake, the Democrats scored a victory in eight states such as New York and California, while the Republicans won 23 states.
(Distributed by Kyodo News on Nov.3, 2010)
